Editor’s note: Dogs Off the Leash will be a continuously running segment looking at the lives of former Bulldog athletes since they have left UGA.

It’s been less than 10 months since former Georgia volleyball great Maria Taylor patrolled the court for the Bulldogs.

Widely considered one of the best volleyball players in school history, Taylor finished her four-year career in Georgia’s top five in kills, kills per set, attacks and points.

The former All-SEC performer graduated in May with a degree in broadcast news, and she has wasted no time getting her post-volleyball career off the ground.

“I work with International Sports Properties (ISP),” Taylor said. “We do georgiadogs.com as well as the coach’s show with Coach Richt and Mark Fox, and we do commentary for volleyball.”

Stepping into the broadcast booth seems to be a perfect transition for Taylor as she continues to work towards her goal of becoming an on-air reporter for a major television network.

“I always knew that I wanted to be a sports reporter. I’m the girl who wants to be on ESPN or E:60 or even Good Morning America,” Taylor said. “But I don’t want to do hardcore news because I think it’s really heavy on the heart … I like to try to put a human interest spin on the stories we do on our athletes and just make sure that everyone gets to see every single side of a Georgia Bulldog.”

However certain Taylor may be about her professional future, there is no doubt that her collegiate past is still fresh in her mind.

“It’s hard coming to watch because you’re not there anymore,” Taylor said. “I don’t necessarily want to put a jersey on but if something’s going wrong I want to be there for my team. I kind of miss that and the camaraderie with my team but other than that I feel good.”

One of the benefits of having Taylor working on campus is that she has the opportunity to provide support and advice to current Bulldog players as they forge through the 2009 season.

Whatever insight the ’09 Bulldogs, a team lacking a senior, can gain from Taylor would certainly improve their chances of competing in a strong Southeastern Conference this season.

As long as current players are willing to listen, Taylor will be there to fill them in on what is most important while being a Georgia Bulldog.

“Just enjoy it while you can. It’s one of the greatest times of your life. I’ve been able to be a leader and I’ve been able to build friendships. You get so many characteristics when you’re on a team compared to just going to school and then going straight to work,” Taylor said.

When Taylor reflects on her time spent as a Bulldog, it’s clear that she takes nothing for granted.

“I’ve been able to do so much and I’m only 22. I don’t know if volleyball is out of my system, I don’t know if reporting has taken over my system, but I know that I’m happy where I am right now,” Taylor said.

Looking into the future, Taylor isn’t quite sure of where she’ll be, but she definitely knows where she wants to be.

“I know in the end that I’m going to be on somebody’s national cable network,” Taylor said. “You’ll see me on someone’s TV station.”