Kuper is all of 5'-8" and had a grand total of 3 kills last year (probably on well placed dinks). She's not hitting out the back row or the front row.
The only two on the roster the the setters will go to out of the back are Quade and probably Vrankovic, which is why I'd expect them to be opposite in the rotation so one is in front and one in back all the time. That would give them four hitting threats on every rotation.
It's not as crazy as it sounds. She was an outside hitter all through high school and was the
Gatorade Player of the Year in the State of Kansas. Here is what a coach of another team said about her:
“Taylor was an impact player from both the front and back row. She was not only the best defensive player on her team but arguably the best in the state, and I believe she’s the best offensive player in the state as well.” - Alex Fitzmorris, Gardner-Edgerton High Head Coach (Btw, Alex Fitzmorris has been a coach for USA Volleyball HP and her sister, Audriana, is a star player for Stanford. So she knows quite a bit about elite volleyball players.)
Also, Kuper got a big kill from the back row against Northern Colorado early in the season that surprised a lot of people.
Finally, this is what Coach Tamas said about her in an article last year:
"Tamas trusts Kuper on the back row, but his trust in the young player is not just limited to her dangerous serve or her passing.
When redshirt junior Beth Prince nursed an injury at the start of the season, Tamas considered playing Kuper on the outside to fill in. Kuper is relatively comfortable in almost every position on the court (she’s even set up a few teammates for kills, with five assists).
“'She's a three-rotation defensive specialist, but she's a multi-tool player,' Tamas said. 'She’s able to do a lot. If she's not playing the back row here, she might be playing the front row kind of on our scout side. She's able to mimic the other attackers and she's still a good attacker, she competes. I used that word a couple times, but being a competitor in our program is a big deal for me. I think that's the biggest role for me that she fills.'”