When a national finalist team returns nearly every important player to the court, they are undoubtedly a force to be reckoned with it. The Wisconsin volleyball team has definitely been a force so far this season, winning 15 of its first 17 sets of the season to open the year 5-0 with victories against Notre Dame, Louisville, Northern Colorado, Florida A&M and No. 13 Colorado State.

The only graduating starter from last year’s team was libero Annemarie Hickey, but her departure left a gaping hole in the team’s defense.

Up to the plate stepped Taylor Morey.

The former defensive specialist has assumed the libero role for the 2014 season. Upon the conclusion of the first games of the season, she was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week. She recorded double-digit digs in both matches, which ranked second in the Big Ten. More impressive was Morey’s serve receive. She avoided getting aced in 27 attempts, yet added three service aces herself.

This past weekend, Morey continued to be a defensive force on the court. She tallied more than 20 digs in all three games during the Colorado road trip, including tying her career-high with 26 against No. 13 Colorado State.

“It’s really exciting, it’s obviously an honor to receive that [award] in such a competitive conference,” Morey said. “A lot of it I give credit to my teammates obviously too, because we don’t get these individual awards without each other.”

Fortunately for the Badgers and particularly Morey, Hickey has stuck around as a student assistant coach this season, allowing Morey to seek out advice from her as she adjusts to a full-time player role.

“Having someone who had such a significant role and such a great leader on our team makes it easy to learn from,” Morey said. “She’s very open to communication and even now we’ll have small conversations about how we can get better … since she just graduated last year we still have her as an open person to say ‘Hey, you were successful at this last year, what can we do to be better at that?'”

Morey says the shift from being a role player, who managed to play in all 38 games for the Badgers last season, to never leaving the court has been a bit of an adjustment, but she’s noticed an evolution in her leadership role on the team.

“My leadership has definitely developed,” Morey said. “What it always comes down to is my team and being the best player I can be for them.”

Morey did not begin her collegiate career at UW. After being named Indiana’s Gatorade Player of the Year in 2011 during her senior year of high school, she went on to play her freshman season at Notre Dame. There, she earned Big East Freshman of the Week honors twice and made 471 digs, averaging 4.13 digs per set.

Morey was not happy there, though, and wanted out of South Bend. She knew she was destined for bigger and better things.

“I knew I wanted to play at a more competitive conference, and the Big Ten is the best,” Morey said. “So for me, personally, it was just a matter of I wasn’t happy there. I didn’t leave with any bad feelings, it’s just one of those things where it wasn’t the right fit.”

Head coach Kelly Sheffield, who coached Morey’s sister Allyson for three seasons at Dayton before taking the job at UW, pounced on the opportunity to recruit her.

“I’ve known Taylor for a very long time,” Sheffield said. “I’ve known her family for years, so when you get wind that she wants out, you make a couple calls, and then we got her to visit and I think she fell in love with the atmosphere and what the school had to offer academically.”

After visiting Madison and a couple of other schools, Morey felt a strong affinity to the school and the program.

“It all kinda worked out,” Morey said.

It’s working out on the court as well.

Last season, she played back-row for Ellen Chapman, where she was responsible for making sure the lethal outside-hitter got her touches. She averaged 2.65 digs per set, and started nine games.

“She works harder than anyone else,” Sheffield said. “I mean, talk about someone who’s always in the gym.”

It is that kind of work-ethic that has set Morey up in a favorable position to succeed. Her coach is also pleased with her newfound confidence this season.

“You can always count on her in big moments,” Sheffield said. “When the game is on the line she’s always ready to answer the bell and make a big play.”

Sheffield says he has been impressed with her passing numbers so far, but would like to see her develop her serving game to really make her a complete player.

Morey takes tremendous pride in protecting the defensive side of the court. She expressed that some of it is positioning and reading the ball, and the rest is the willingness to hit the ground before the ball does. Whatever Morey lacks in height — she only stands at 5-foot-5 — she makes up for in tenacity and quickness.

Morey was asked if she feels shunned from the spotlight being a defensive player on a team filled with offensive juggernauts.

“Never,” she replied. “It’s not about the spotlight. It’s about us and our team and where we want to go. We have a lot of really great players on our team and I love playing with every one of them, but not one of us ever thinks about the spotlight because it’s all about the team.”

That kind of selflessness will only make success easier for Morey and the Badgers this season.