PULA, Croatia – Dominating the competition at the 2018 Global Challenge in Croatia, rising senior,Taylor Mims took home tournament Most Valuable Player honors at the conclusion of the tournament after leading the US Collegiate National Team-Europe to the gold medal. Mims, alongside of Cougar teammate Alexis Dirige, led the US team to a third-straight title after defeating the Mountain West Conference All-Stars, 3-0, in the championship game. The Cougars have had their hand in all three tournament championships as Mims earned all-tournament honors last year at the 2017 Global Challenge while Casey Schoenlein and McKenna Woodford and Head Coach Jen Greeny were on the 2016 CNT-Europe team that became the first U.S. Collegiate team to win the Global Challenge.

"The last couple of matches I feel like we really figured ourselves out and that helped me out a lot," said Mims. "Playing with such high-level intensity and great players from so many colleges has been just awesome and brought out the best in all of us. I think it really improved my play."

In the semifinal matchup with England's Northumbria, Mims led CNT with 16 kills while adding one ace and one block. During group play, Mims had been splitting time on the right-side with Stanford's Audriana Fitzmorris as the two alternated sets. In the finals, Mims took control of the match from the service line as she drilled seven of the team's 11 service aces. In addition she led the way defensively with four blocks while adding three kills on just eight swings. 

While Mims scored the points for CNT, Dirige took care of the backrow as the team's libero in Croatia. Dirige led the defensive efforts throughout the entire tournament and in the finals helped CNT hold the MWC All-Stars to just a 33% kill percentage.

Mims and Dirige lead Washington State into the 2018 season beginning on August 25 when the Cougars head to Raleigh, N.C. to take on Virginia Commonwealth in the season opener. The Cougars first taste of home cooking comes at the Cougar Challenge Tournament that runs Sept. 7-8 with McNeese State, Illinois State, and Stony Brook coming to Bohler Gym.