Taylor Averill of Projekt Warsaw spikes the ball in a match against Warta Zawiercie on April 16, 2024.
“I am lucky to be playing here,” says the 6-foot-7 Averill, sitting in a breakfast restaurant one morning earlier this year in the southern part of capital Warsaw. “The system they have set up here for volleyball is so cool. They have set it up to be as professional as possible. Italy is close. Volleyball is the No. 1 sport in Poland, which is cool.”
Pro men’s and women’s matches are shown on national Polish TV several nights a week – more than the Polish men’s basketball league that has had more than 70 Americans playing here this season.Taylor Averill and Projekt Warsaw teammates celebrate with a third-place trophy after defeating Rzeszow to earn bronze medals for the 2024 PlusLiga season in a match on April 26, 2024.
“It would be a really cool way to wrap up my career,” he says of the Olympics. “It is such an honor to play in the Olympics and for me, it would be a great way to help people who helped me along the way. It would be nice to give them something as well – for my high school, Branham High School, for my club team – Bay to Bay Volleyball when I was young playing for them – to be able to represent San Jose and a player out of that area would be really cool.”“It is really competitive,” he says.
During the season, Averill’s team generally has one off day per week and on average Projekt plays two matches a week – both as part of the 16-team Polish league and contests against teams from outside of the country.Most away matches in the Polish league are less than four hours by bus. Poland has a population of about 40 million and is about the size of New Mexico.
Born in Portland, Averill played four years at Branham and led the team to the Central Coast Section title and an overall record of 25-3 his senior season. He was a two-time NCVA all-tournament pick and the MVP in 2009. Averill also competed for Bay to Bay Volleyball Club for three years.