Sheri Sanders joined the Washington State Volleyball Staff as a volunteer assistant this past spring of 2022. Sanders spent the past 30 plus years providing specialized skills training and has developed hundreds of top-ranking setters in the So Cal region. Sanders is a former First-Team AVCA All-American and Led the 1989 Long Beach State 49ers to their first NCAA DI Championship.
As a player, Sanders was a four-year starter at Long Beach State where she was later inducted into the LBSU Athletics Hall of Fame twice, once as an individual player in 2001. Again, in 2011 as a member of the 1989 National Championship Team that went 32-5 to deliver the first ever NCAA Title Championship for the University. Sanders was named to the Big West All-Freshman Team in ’86, Second Team in ’88 and First Team in ’89. She still holds program and DIV I records in categories of Setting Assists (6,031), digs (1,180) and service aces (151). In 2017 Sanders was recognized as fourth on the top 10 best female volleyball players in area history in Sothern California
Immediately following her Sr year play at CSULB, Sanders was invited to join the USA National Team with NCAA MVP teammate Tara Cross-Battle. Sanders signed and remained with the team for about two and a half years competing in the 1991 FIVB World Cup games finishing 3rd to qualify for the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
Sanders then went on to play for the next 7 years on several professional teams domestically for the PVL and NVA and was voted in as the director of players personnel. After a brief international tour throughout Europe, Sanders returned to the US to join the Bud Light 4-Person Professional Beach Volleyball Tour for Teams Nike and Forrester.
As a specialized setting instructor in Southern California, Sanders helped train the likes of nationally renowned players like three-time Olympian Misty May-Trainer (CSULB). She has been instrumental in placing several top-ranking female and male prep athletes into DIV I programs throughout her career like Scottee Johnson (Michigan), Sophia Lambros (Boston), Josh Rosenblum (CSULB), Patrick Paragus (UCSB), Ashly Humphries (USC) and Abby Dayton (BYU) to name a few.
Prior to her transition to individual skills training, Sanders Founded and directed the In Motion VBC in her college town of Long Beach she calls home. Throughout the 90’s her program produced several Nationally ranked teams in all age divisions. Adding to her youth coaching resume Sanders attained a couple of league titles and CIF playoff finishes at Cerritos HS. Her latest achievement this past summer as a coaching trio for Pulse Athletics VBC, Sanders helped lead the boys 18-1s team to a Bronze medal at the 2022 AAU Nationals directly followed by a 7th place finish at USA Nationals.
In the late 90’s Sheri first stepped into the collegiate coaching arena as an assistant at Golden West college. She was quickly snatched away by top ranked world class player Paula Weishoff to join her at Concordia University as their offensive coordinator. There, Sanders assisted Paula in leading the team to the top of their conference and a second-round postseason appearance.
