SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Former Troubadour standout Taryn Wright will coach the St. Francis junior varsity volleyball team and serve as a varsity assistant next fall, Athletic Director Mark McGreevy announced.

“I am really excited,” said Taryn. “It is something I have dreamt about for a long time. It is a great school and atmosphere to be part of again. I am excited to be back.”

Wright, who was a standout for the Troubadours and member of the 2005 state championship team, played collegiately at the University of Montana from 2006-09. She was a three-time Big Sky all-conference selection, including second-team honors in both 2008 and 2009. She graduated in 2006.

In Wright’s four-year career, the Grizzlies won 35 Big Sky Conference matches. In the five seasons before Wright’s arrival, Montana won a total of 12 Big Sky matches. She led Montana to three Big Sky tournaments in her four-year career (FR, JR, SR). The team had not made the tournament in the five seasons before Wright’s arrival.

She recorded 3,882 career assists (9.42/s), the fifth-best total in UM history, and 148 service aces, No. 4 in UM history. She had 79 assists in 3-2 loss at Eastern Washington in 2007, a single-match total that ranks No. 2 in UM history.

She earned her degree in elementary education in December 2010 with a concentration in communication and currently is a member of the faculty and athletic director at Our Lady of Assumption.

“It has been really fun for me to watch her grow personally and professionally,” said St. Francis Head Coach Alynn Wright of her daughter. “We are teaching at the same school so it has been fun to watch her with the kids and the wonderful job she is doing there. I know her passion is volleyball so I know she is going to do a stellar job for us at St. Francis.”

Following her playing career, she was a student assistant for the Montana staff in 2010 before joining the University of Nevada staff. She was a volunteer coach in 2011 and director of volleyball operations from 2012-13. She is currently an assistant with the Synergy Force Volleyball Club.

She also coached with several clubs in Montana and has worked numerous volleyball camps, including Nevada, California and Florida.

 “She will bring a lot of new ideas and tremendous setting experience to help train our position group,” said Wright, who will coach her 26th season at the helm of the St. Francis program in 2014. “It is going to be a lot of fun and the girls are very excited.”