21 Leah Saunders
21 - Leah Saunders
Height: 5-8
Year: Jr.
Hometown: Simpsonville, SC
High School: St. Joseph's Catholic
Position: RS

Career:
After three seasons in the program, she ranks 15th on the school's all-time chart in kills average (2.84 kps) ... Has compiled 52 matches of double-figure kills ... 18th on the school's career ladder with 1,040 kills.

Junior (2019):
Outstanding campaign that saw her play in 36 matches and total 132 sets of action ... AVCA First Team All-American ... AVCA All-South Region ... Was tabbed as the UAA's Most Valuable Player for the second straight season, the first player in program history to earn that distinction ... NCAA Championships All-Tournament Team ... Averaged 3.17 kills per set, good for the No. 2 spot on the team and third among players in the UAA ... 419 total kills were second on the squad and good for 17th place on the Eagles' seasonal ladder ... Second on the team with 22 matches of double-figure kills ... Three outings with 20 or more terminations ... Turned in a .264 hitting mark (419-175--925) that placed 11th in the league ... Led or shared for team honors in kills on 13 occasions ... Dialed up a pair of career-high tying 21 kill outings against Johnson and Wales (Aug. 30) and Washington University (Oct. 6) ... Second on the club and 16th on the conference ladder in digs average (2.52 dps) ... 18 outings with 10 or more digs ... 15 matches of double-doubles (kills/digs) ... Doled out 50 service aces, second on the team, and her 0.38 per-set average in that category stood seventh in the UAA ... 12 matches with two or more aces ... Named UAA Player of the Week four times during the year ... All-around match saw her place second on the team with 15 kills, hit .321 (15-6--28) and dish out a career-best six aces in a five-set win over No. 4 Carthage (Nov. 22) in the semifinals of the NCAA D-III Championships ... Earned a berth on the NCAA Atlanta Regional (Nov. 15-17) All-Tournament Team after averaging 3.00 kills and 2.4 digs over 10 sets ... Became the 20th player in program history to reach 1,000 career kills in the Colorado College (Nov. 17) match ... UAA Player of the Week (Oct. 28) after earning MVP acclaim at the Emory Invitational after pounding out 44 kills, hitting .404 (44-10--84) and ringing up 38 digs in helping Emory to three wins ... Hit .714 on the strength of 10 terminations with no errors in 14 attempts vs. Saint Mary's (Oct. 25) ... Led all players with 17 successful attacks, chipped in a dozen digs and handled all 21 of her reception attempts perfectly in a 3-1 triumph vs. Washington and Lee (Oct. 27) ... Posted a match-best 20 kills, hit .395 (20-5--38) and added four block assists in a 3-1 verdict over Birmingham Southern (Oct. 10) ... Hit .579 (13-2--19) in a sweep of Brandeis (Sept. 21) ... Chosen as UAA Hitter of the Week (Oct. 7) after guiding the team to a 3-0 mark, averaging a team-high 4.0 kills over 11 sets and hitting .326 (44-16--86) -- 13 terminations, 11 digs and four aces vs. NYU (Oct. 6) ... Selected as UAA Co-Hitter of the Week (Sept. 3) for her performance at the Emory Classic where she played in 11 sets over three matches, averaging a team-high 3.82 kills, hitting .359 (42-14--78) in the process, and 2.73 digs -- led the team in kills in two of those outings including 21 vs. Johnson and Wales and 13 against Sewanee ... Second on the team with 14 kills, added 14 digs and finished with four block assists in a five-set win over No. 9 Berry (Sept. 7) ... Hit .429 after blasting out a match-high kills and contributed two aces and seevn digs in a 3-1 triumph against No. 7 UW-Whitewater (Oct. 26).

Sophomore (2018):
Outstanding second year in the program ... AVCA Honorable Mention All-American ... AVCA All-South Region ... UAA Most Valuable Player ... First Team All-UAA ... Member of the NCAA Championships All-Tournament Team after averaging 2.80 kills and 3.60 digs over 10 sets of play which covered three matches .... Ranked second on the club and 13th on the UAA list with a 2.72 kills-per-set average ...  Chalked up 13 matches of double-figure terminations ... No. 3 on the team with 39 service aces and she ranked 14th in the league with an average of 0.35 aces per set ... Led or shared for team honors in kills on six occasions ... Closed out the campaign second on the team and 17th among UAA players in digs average (2.53 dps) ... Recorded six double-doubles (kills/digs) ... Season-high 15 kills in a 3-1 win over Whitworth (Sept. 8) ranked second on the squad and tied her second-highest career total ... Tied for the team lead with 11 successful attack attempts, hit .368 (11-4--19), handled all 15 of her serve-receive attempts flawlessly and chipped in seven digs in a sweep of No. 4 Colorado College (Nov. 10) in the semifinals of the NCAA Mount Berry Regional ... NCAA Mount Berry Regional All-Tournament Team pick after averaging 3.11 kills and hitting .317 (28-9--60) over nine sets of play during the team's three matches ... Ranked second on the team in both kills (2.95 kps) and digs (3.32 dps) in the Eagles' six-match run in the NCAA Tournament ... Hit .370 after pounding out a team-high 12 kills with two errors in 27 swings, and was second among the Eagle contingent with a personal-best 20 digs in a 3-1 triumph at Lee University (Oct. 3) ... Emory Classic All-Tournament Team ... Emory National Tournament All-Tournament Team ... Solid all-around match with a club-best 11 kills, a season-high tying four service aces and 14 digs in a 3-1 verdict over No. 25 Ithaca (Nov. 15) in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championships ... Hit a team-high .417 with 11 terminations and one error in 24 attempts, while contributing 10 digs and four (0-4) blocks in a sweep of Carnegie Mellon (Nov. 2) in the semifinals of the UAA Championships ... Team highs in both kills (11) and digs (19) in a four-set match at No. 20 Berry (Oct. 9) ... Keyed a 3-0 triumph vs. Chicago (Oct. 13) at the UAA Round Robin II, racking up 11 kills (second on the team), an attack percentage of .368 (11-4--19), a team-high tying four service aces and 11 digs. 

Freshman (2017):
Saw action in 36 matches and her 124 sets of play were third most on the team ... Named UAA Rookie of the Year ... Honorable Mention All-UAA ... Posted 17 matches of double-figure kills ... Fourth on the squad and 14th among UAA players in kills average (2.60 kps) ... Led or shared for team honors in terminations on four occasions ... Second on the team with 10 kills and hit a club-best .381 (10-2--21) vs. Ithaca College (Nov. 16) in the quarterfinals of the NCAA D-III Championships ... Racked up a total of 322 kills, good for the No. 3 spot on the club ... Three double-doubles (kills/digs) to her credit including a 14-kills (second on the team), 14-digs effort in a 3-1 decision over No. 8-ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (Sept. 15) ... No. 2 on the team with 12 successful attack attempts and hit . 304 (12-5--23) vs. Washington University in the title match of the UAA Championships ... Helped Emory to a 3-2 win over No. 9 Carnegie Mellon (Nov. 3) in the semis of the UAA Championships after pounding out a season-high 16 kills ... Her hitting performance of .588 (12-2--17) against Case Western Reserve (Nov. 3) was the high-water mark by an Eagle during the season (12 or more kills) ... Keyed a 3-0 verdict over Transylvania (Sept. 22) with a match-high 15 kills, a hitting percentage of .423 (15-4--26) and seven digs ... Big outing in a 3-1 triumph vs. Heidelberg (Sept. 23) at the Transylvania Invitational saw her rank second on the team with 12 kills while pacing the squad with season highs in digs (16) and aces (3) ... No. 2 on the club with 11 kills and 15 digs in a 3-0 outcome at Berry College (Oct. 10). 

High School
:
Four-year member of the volleyball program at St. Joseph's Catholic School where she played for head coach Jan Carino …Helped her team to three Class A and one Class AA state championships … No. 3-ranked player in the state of South Carolina … As a senior, she totaled 331 kills and hit .391 in leading her squad to a 29-9 record and a Class AA championship … All-region selection on three occasions … All-State honoree her junior and senior seasons … Chosen to play in the North-South All-Star Match … Also played on the basketball team while at St. Joseph's.

Played club volleyball for Axis Elite where she was mentored by Sean Fitzgerald and Mike Whitten. 

Personal:
Daughter of Steve and Joanne Saunders ... Born Oct. 15 ... Majors in anthropology and human biology.


Leah Saunders Career Stats

Year SP-MP Kills KPS SA Digs DPS TB BPS
2019 132-36 419 3.17 50 333 2.52 57 0.43
2018 110-35 299 2.72 39 278 2.53 49 0.45
2017 124-36 322 2.60 15 171 1.38 51 0.41
TOTALS 366-107 1040 2.84 104 782 2.14 157 0.43

 
Leah Saunders Career-High Kill Matches

Opponent SP Kills Date
Washington Univ. 4 21 10/6/2019
Johnson & Wales 4 21 8/30/2019
Birmingham Southern 4 20 10/10/2019
UW-Whitewater 4 19 10/26/2019
Washington & Lee 4 17 11/2/2019