Samantha Sanders

Vanderbilt

Sep 26 (Fri)

6:30 PM

Photo by: Sam Craft/Texas A&M Athletics

Haley Slocum, Samantha Sanders, Morgan Davis

Photo by: Russell James/Texas A&M Athletics

Samantha Sanders and London Austin-Roark

Photo by: Russell James/Texas A&M Athletics

Photo by: Sam Craft/Texas A&M Athletics

Photo by: Sam Craft/Texas A&M Athletics

Photo by: Glen Johnson/Texas A&M Athletics

Position:
Outside Hitter
Height:
6-2
Class:
Sophomore
High School:
Midway
Hometown:
Waco, Texas

HONORS:

2019

AD Academic Honor Roll
Fall SEC Academic Honor Roll

2018

Fall SEC Academic Honor Roll

2017

First-Year SEC Academic Honor Roll

CAREER HIGHS

Category	Career High
Kills	14 at Tennessee (11/4/18)
Attempts	41 at LSU (9/30/18)
Hit% (min. 10 k)	.526 [10-0-19] vs. Lipscomb (9/8/17)
Assists	3 vs. Penn State (9/2/17)
Aces	2 vs. Ole Miss (10/22/17); vs. Nicholls (9/7/18)
Digs	5 at LSU (9/30/18)
Solo Blocks	1 at Georgia (9/29/17)
Assisted Blocks	4 vs. Tennessee (10/27/17)
Total Blocks	4 vs. Tennessee (10/27/17)
Points	14.5 vs. Auburn (10/15/17)

2019 (JUNIOR)
Appeared in 15 matches and 34 sets...Made her first appearance of the season in the Aggies’ season opener vs. Dayton, registering three kills (Aug. 30)…Recorded a season-best eight kills at No. 25 Louisville (Aug. 31)…Put down three kills vs. Fairfield to hit a .286 mark…Came off the bench in the SEC opener vs. Alabama and tallied a kill and three blocks (Sept. 24)…Played in one set at No. 22 Mizzou and went 2-2 in kills...Had four kills against No. 14 Florida (Oct. 13)...Compiled three kills and a dig at Mississippi State (Oct. 18)...Registered four kills and a block vs. Arkansas (Nov. 8)...Logged five kills and a block at LSU (Nov. 10).

2018 (SOPHOMORE)
After having appeared in only one match over the first nine contests, saw action in 18 consecutive matches, seeing action on both the left and right sides…Made her first appearance and her first start of the season in the eighth match of the season against Nicholls (Sept. 7)…Recorded a career-high 14 kills as well as a season-high 14 points at No. 25 Tennessee…Posted double-figure kills five times throughout the season and recorded 10 or more points eight times…Led A&M with three blocks at LSU (Sept. 30)…Was unavailable to play in the final three matches of the season.

2017 (FRESHMAN)
Appeared in 20 of 25 matches and 58 of 88 sets…Made her career debut and her first career start against VCU on Aug. 26…Made 11 starts overall, 10 at opposite hitter and one at outside hitter…Averaged 1.50 kills and 1.80 points per set while hitting .147 for the full season…In SEC matches only, hit .144 and averaged 1.67 kills and 1.97 points per set…Led A&M and tied for match-high honors with a career-high 13 kills in the 3-1 win against Auburn on Oct. 15…Posted double-figure kills twice overall, including 10 kills while hitting .526 against Lipscomb on Sept. 8 in the first double-digit kill performance of her career.

PREVIOUS ATHLETIC EXPERIENCE
Was a four-year starter and two-year team co-captain for coach Ryan Porter at Midway High School…Saw action at both outside hitter and middle blocker and was a four-time all-district first-team selection as well as a four-time member of the academic all-district team…As a senior, was named Under Armour All-American Honorable Mention…Also earned district Offensive Player of the Year honors for the second consecutive year…Named to the Waco Tribune-Herald Super Centex first team as a senior, junior and sophomore, and earned honorable mention as a freshman…Played club volleyball for Texas Advantage Volleyball, where she was coached by John Sample…Named to the 18s Open Division all-tournament team at the 2017 USA Volleyball Girls Junior National Championship after leading TAV to a silver medal…Played 15s for Waco Juniors…Won the American Division at the 2014 USAV GJNC and was named to the all-tournament team…Most memorable moment of prep athletic career is when her TAV team traveled to Europe and played against the Iranian volleyball team.

PERSONAL
Began playing volleyball when she was 9 years old…Only official recruiting visit was to Texas A&M…Although raised as a Baylor fan who learned to dislike A&M, chose to sign with the Aggies because, “It felt like home. I had an open mind when I made my visit, and meeting the coaches and all the people in College Station made me feel so welcome, and the program is great.”…Looked up to former Aggie outside hitter Angela Lowak while growing up…Most memorable moment of A&M athletic career is playing Penn State to five sets at Reed Arena…Hobbies include singing, hanging with friends, playing cards, watching movies, volleyball and star gazing…Is a member of FCA…Volunteered at The Big Event, the largest one-day, student-run service project in the nation in which Aggies assist residents within the community…Majoring in sports conditioning with minors in leadership and coaching...Career ambition is to be a coach.

SANDERS UP CLOSE

Favorites:

Favorite class subject: Anatomy
Favorite quote: But God
Favorite volleyball player of all time: Hannah Werth
Favorite athlete (any sport): Tim Tebow
Favorite professional sports team (any sport): Dallas Mavericks
Favorite social media site: Instagram
Favorite emoji: confused but cute face
Favorite type of music: Country or Christian
Favorite food: Steak and scallops with asparagus and mashed potatoes
Favorite binge watching TV show: Game of Thrones
Favorite movie: Aladdin
Favorite Disney character: Peter Pan
Favorite animal: Dolphin
Favorite part about the sport of volleyball: Getting to make life long friends and getting to be competitive
Favorite sport to play other than volleyball: Table tennis
Favorite thing about A&M: The welcoming community and yells
Favorite Aggie tradition: Ring Dunks
Favorite Karaoke song to sing: Lazy Song by Bruno Mars
Favorite place to vacation: Turks and Caicos

Miscellaneous:

My nickname is: Sam, Sami, Samuel, Sami-sun, Samuri, Sampson, Salmon, Mantha, Samanthuel
One word to describe me when I’m on the court: competitive
One word to describe me away from the court: bubby
The person who has had the greatest impact on my athletic career: Big Daddy (Grandfather)
The accomplishment (athletic or non-athletic) that I am most proud of: SEC Honor Roll
The Aggie volleyball player I most idolized while growing up: Angela Lowack
The person I would most like to meet: Heath Ledger or Stevie Ray Vaughn
People have told me that I look like (name of celebrity): Bella from Twilight
The most famous athlete I have met: Tim Tebow
Best pump-up song: No Handz
Musical instruments that I play: guitar
When I was little, I dreamed of being a: rockstarlike Aerosmith
Early bird or night owl: night owl
The reality show I would most like to participate in is: The Bachelorette or Below Deck
I can’t believe I watch this show: Keeping up with the Kardashians
Few people know that I: know almost every constellation
My best non-athletic talent: singing
My pet peeve: When people interrupt, or when people scratch their jeans
My superstitions: I have to pray before I play, and do my handshake with Camille Conner
If I had a million dollars, I would: buy a pool in my living room for my future dolphin
Three things on my bucket list are:
- Having a pet dolphin
- Meet Tyler C. from The Bachelorette
- Visit every country in Europe
Being at A&M has taught me: Patience and time management
Best piece of advice for your freshmen teammates: Take each day at a time. Try not to get ahead of yourself and make the most of this opportunity with your friends.
After I graduate, I plan to: become a coach or something involved with physical therapy
My dream job is: physical therapist
I am most thankful for: My family and all their support. God has blessed me with a huge family that I am super close to.