2021 Volleyball Roster
Roster
Saunders, Olivia
L/DS
/ VolleyballL/DS
/ VolleyballMB
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballMB
/ VolleyballS
/ VolleyballL/DS
/ VolleyballMB/OPP
/ VolleyballS
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballOPP/OH
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballOPP/OH
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballMB
/ VolleyballMB
/ VolleyballS/OPP
/ Volleyball
Jersey Number 5
Olivia Saunders
- Position:
- MB
- Height:
- 6-2
- Class:
- Redshirt Junior
- Hometown:
- Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
- Previous School:
- Wake Forest
Bio
2023: Secured All-Ohio Valley Conference second team honors, joining Lindsay Stock (2000 and 2002) as the only two Skyhawks to ever be named All-OVC second team twice in a career…Started in all 28 matches, ranking ninth in the OVC in blocks (96, 0.94 per set) and ranking ninth in points during league play (3.58 per set)…Slammed down a team-high 266 kills (2.61 per set) with a team-best .260 hitting percentage to go along with 68 digs, 12 service aces and 15 assists in 102 out of a possible 104 sets…Topped UT Martin in kills in nine separate contests, seven of which occurred against league foes…Reached double figures in the kill column 14 times with a season-high of 17 kills (on a season-high .412 hitting percentage) in the season-opening win over Marist on Aug. 25…Hit .300 or better in 15 matches while serving up multiple aces four times (all in OVC play)…Swatted away at least four blocks in 13 different matches, setting a season-high with seven rejections against Marist (Aug. 25), Tennessee State (Oct. 3) and Western Illinois (Oct. 14)…Earned all-tournament accolades at the Tennessee Classic (Aug. 25-26) and the Lippy Invitational (Sept. 7-8).
2022: Missed the entire season after suffering an offseason injury…Was named to the Preseason All-Ohio Valley Conference team.
2021: Exploded on the scene during her debut season as a Skyhawk, earning All-OVC second team accolades (becoming just the seventh player in program history to achieve that title)…Started in all 27 of her matches played, seeing time in 99 sets overall…Led UT Martin and ranked sixth in the league in hitting percentage (.273) while ranking second on the squad in blocks (90, 0.91 per set)…Upped her attack percentage to a scorching .332 against OVC opposition, a number that ranked second in the league…Produced 212 kills (2.14 per set) while adding 43 digs…Managed double-digit kills in 10 separate matches and topped the Skyhawks in kills four times, including a career-best 17 rally killers in the road win at SIUE on Oct. 23…Hit .333 or higher on eight different occasions, including a season-best .706 effort (12 kills against zero errors in 17 swings) in the three-set sweep at Belmont on Sept. 25…Was a menace at the net, racking up 23 multi-block performances (including 11 matches with four or more swats)...Turned away a career-best eight blocks against Tennessee Tech on Oct. 30…Was named OVC Newcomer of the Week on Nov. 1…Captured all-tournament accolades at the Tiger Brawl (Sept. 17-18).
BEFORE UTM: Spent four seasons playing under head coaches Bill Ferguson and Randi Smart at Wake Forest...Saw playing time in 47 matches and cracked the starting lineup 37 times during her tenure in Winston-Salem, NC...Delivered 313 kills (1.82 per set) on a .272 attack percentage while swatting away 155 blocks (0.90 per set) at the net over 172 sets...Ranks 10th all-time in Demon Deacon history in attack percentage with at least 300 career kills while her blocks per set average comes in at 11th place in Wake Forest history...Started in three of her five matches during the shortened six-match fall season in 2020, hitting a team-best .313 to go along with 2.36 kills and 0.71 blocks per set...Reeled off a career-best 14 kills on a sizzling .550 attack percentage (just three errors on 20 swings) and rejected a match-high five blocks against Clemson in her final match of the season on Oct. 29...Overall, she hit .357 or better three times in only five opportunities as a redshirt junior...Made eight starts while playing in 15 matches in 2019, hitting a career-best .338 on the season while tallying 1.88 kills and 0.84 blocks per set...Best match of the season came on Nov. 27 against North Carolina when she amassed a season-best 13 kills, a .650 attack percentage (no errors in 20 attempts) and a career-high eight blocks...Overall, she cracked double figures in the kill column on four separate occasions while her season-high .818 hitting percentage came against Mercer on Sept. 6 (nine kills with no miscues on 11 swings)...Had more than four blocks in six different matches, equaling her career-high of eight swats against North Florida on Sept. 6...Started in 26 out of her 27 matches as a redshirt freshman, accounting for a team-best 96 blocks (0.96 per set) and 1.71 kills per set on a .229 attack percentage...Collected seven or more kills in a dozen matches with her season-high of 10 rally killers (.500 hitting percentage, one error on 18 attempts) coming against Boston College on Sept. 30...Hit a season-best .636 with eight kills (one error in 11 swings) against Miami on Sept. 21 and dialed up 13 matches with at least four blocks – including a season-high seven rejections against Clemson on Nov. 16...Upped her blocking statistics in Atlantic Coast Conference play to an even 1.00 block per set average during her debut season...Prepped at Iona Catholic Secondary School and St. Francis of Assisi Catholic and competed on the Canada Junior National Team...Was one of only two U16 athletes invited to attend an identification for a "Quest for Gold" card that Volleyball Canada utilizes to identify athletes with national team potential.
PERSONAL:Â Born on Dec. 6, 1999...Daughter of Robbie and Horace Saunders...Has one sibling, Juliet...Is the first Canadian to don a UT Martin volleyball jersey since Alanna Watt in 2015...Majoring in interdisciplinary studies.
2022: Missed the entire season after suffering an offseason injury…Was named to the Preseason All-Ohio Valley Conference team.
2021: Exploded on the scene during her debut season as a Skyhawk, earning All-OVC second team accolades (becoming just the seventh player in program history to achieve that title)…Started in all 27 of her matches played, seeing time in 99 sets overall…Led UT Martin and ranked sixth in the league in hitting percentage (.273) while ranking second on the squad in blocks (90, 0.91 per set)…Upped her attack percentage to a scorching .332 against OVC opposition, a number that ranked second in the league…Produced 212 kills (2.14 per set) while adding 43 digs…Managed double-digit kills in 10 separate matches and topped the Skyhawks in kills four times, including a career-best 17 rally killers in the road win at SIUE on Oct. 23…Hit .333 or higher on eight different occasions, including a season-best .706 effort (12 kills against zero errors in 17 swings) in the three-set sweep at Belmont on Sept. 25…Was a menace at the net, racking up 23 multi-block performances (including 11 matches with four or more swats)...Turned away a career-best eight blocks against Tennessee Tech on Oct. 30…Was named OVC Newcomer of the Week on Nov. 1…Captured all-tournament accolades at the Tiger Brawl (Sept. 17-18).
BEFORE UTM: Spent four seasons playing under head coaches Bill Ferguson and Randi Smart at Wake Forest...Saw playing time in 47 matches and cracked the starting lineup 37 times during her tenure in Winston-Salem, NC...Delivered 313 kills (1.82 per set) on a .272 attack percentage while swatting away 155 blocks (0.90 per set) at the net over 172 sets...Ranks 10th all-time in Demon Deacon history in attack percentage with at least 300 career kills while her blocks per set average comes in at 11th place in Wake Forest history...Started in three of her five matches during the shortened six-match fall season in 2020, hitting a team-best .313 to go along with 2.36 kills and 0.71 blocks per set...Reeled off a career-best 14 kills on a sizzling .550 attack percentage (just three errors on 20 swings) and rejected a match-high five blocks against Clemson in her final match of the season on Oct. 29...Overall, she hit .357 or better three times in only five opportunities as a redshirt junior...Made eight starts while playing in 15 matches in 2019, hitting a career-best .338 on the season while tallying 1.88 kills and 0.84 blocks per set...Best match of the season came on Nov. 27 against North Carolina when she amassed a season-best 13 kills, a .650 attack percentage (no errors in 20 attempts) and a career-high eight blocks...Overall, she cracked double figures in the kill column on four separate occasions while her season-high .818 hitting percentage came against Mercer on Sept. 6 (nine kills with no miscues on 11 swings)...Had more than four blocks in six different matches, equaling her career-high of eight swats against North Florida on Sept. 6...Started in 26 out of her 27 matches as a redshirt freshman, accounting for a team-best 96 blocks (0.96 per set) and 1.71 kills per set on a .229 attack percentage...Collected seven or more kills in a dozen matches with her season-high of 10 rally killers (.500 hitting percentage, one error on 18 attempts) coming against Boston College on Sept. 30...Hit a season-best .636 with eight kills (one error in 11 swings) against Miami on Sept. 21 and dialed up 13 matches with at least four blocks – including a season-high seven rejections against Clemson on Nov. 16...Upped her blocking statistics in Atlantic Coast Conference play to an even 1.00 block per set average during her debut season...Prepped at Iona Catholic Secondary School and St. Francis of Assisi Catholic and competed on the Canada Junior National Team...Was one of only two U16 athletes invited to attend an identification for a "Quest for Gold" card that Volleyball Canada utilizes to identify athletes with national team potential.
PERSONAL:Â Born on Dec. 6, 1999...Daughter of Robbie and Horace Saunders...Has one sibling, Juliet...Is the first Canadian to don a UT Martin volleyball jersey since Alanna Watt in 2015...Majoring in interdisciplinary studies.
Skyhawk Sports Talk - Season 3, Episode 5
Tuesday, September 23
Skyhawk Sports Talk - Season 3, Episode 3
Tuesday, September 09
Skyhawk Sports Talk - Season 3, Episode 2
Tuesday, September 02
Skyhawk Sports Talk - Season 3, Episode 1
Monday, August 25
