Taylr McNeil is easy to pick out in a crowd. She is the one with a constant smile on her face.
Her exuberant demeanor has carried over to the entire Eagan volleyball team this season. McNeil and fellow senior Celia Bertsch serve as the Wildcats' captains.
They have brought an excellent balance of having fun and competing at a high level to the Class 3A, No. 2 Wildcats.
"Our senior captains are great leaders," Eagan coach Kathy Gillen-Melville said. "They've created the whole positive atmosphere this season."
Gillen-Melville returned to coach the Wildcats in 2011 after taking a leave of absence in 2007 to spend more time with her family. She was named the program's first coach in 1990.
"I always thought I would coach again," Gillen-Melville said. "Honestly, I don't think I was quite ready to return at that time."
In her first season back, the Wildcats went 23-5. They were coming off an 11-16 season in 2010.
This year's group wound up second in the South Suburban Conference, finishing behind defending state champion Lakeville North. The Wildcats concluded the regular season with an overall record of 24-2, losing only to No. 3 Lakeville North and No. 10 Eden Prairie.
"If we play our best, we can make it to the state tournament," McNeil said. "We all believe in ourselves, our teammates and the coaches believe in us."
The Wildcats won their first three matches of the season before cruising to the title in the Shakopee tournament. They didn't drop a game in their four matches of the event.
"I think the Shakopee tournament at the beginning of the season really solidified us as team," Bertsch said.
"I was nervous at the beginning of the year. It was nerve-racking."
Eagan came back two weeks later and won the Eagle Invitational in Apple Valley. It was the first time Eagan had won the prestigious tournament, which it has been participating in since 1998.
"We've had teams that have won the state tournament, and not make the finals of that tournament," said Gillen-Melville. "It was certainly nice to finally come out on top in that tournament."
Gillen-Melville's two captains do an outstanding job of feeding of each other in key situations of matches.
"Celia has really good drive," McNeil said. "She's a little more intense than I am. People know me by my smiling face. We're a little opposite of each other."
What trait would Bertsch like to instill in her teammates that McNeil possesses?
"Her aggressiveness," Bertsch said. "No matter what the situation is, she's going to hit the ball as hard as she can for a kill."
Which is exactly what the captains wanted to accomplish from the outset of the season.
"Everybody brings their own component to the team," McNeil said. "We wanted to put the team first. We have great chemistry."
An element that hasn't gone unnoticed by their coach.
"They're all positive, and nothing is about themselves," Gillen-Melville said.
"They're the ultimate team."