Following her first year as a member of the McKendree women's volleyball staff, Sanlin was tabbed to build the Bearcats' brand-new men's volleyball program. McKendree made its men's volleyball debut in January 2014, and in 2015 started play in the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA), which is one of the top NCAA Division I-II conferences in the nation.
In its inaugural season in 2014, Sanlin led the Bearcats to eight victories playing an independent schedule while using an all-freshman roster in the process. McKendree won its first match on Jan. 26 against Dominican University, and later reeled off a four-match winning streak in the middle stages of the campaign.
The experience gained in 2014 was valuable as McKendree joined the MIVA for the 2015 season. The Bearcats boosted their win total to 11 in their sophomore season, going 11-19 overall. McKendree took on some of the best programs in the nation in MIVA play, and gained their first-ever league win in a four-set triumph at home against IPFW on Feb. 28. Freshman opposited Jared Wilcox, who helped fuel the Bearcats' win against IPFW, became the first McKendree men's volleyball player to earn MIVA Offensive Player of the Week honors along with National Freshman of the Week accolades from Off the Block, a publication dedicated to the coverage of men's collegiate volleyball.
The men’s team continued to thrive in year three as he Bearcats reached the MIVA Tournament after finishing sixth in the regular season standings and upset Ball State University in the first round, who ranked 11th in the nation. McKendree fell in the semifinal round to the Buckeyes of Ohio State, who went on to claim their second national title in the past five years.
The Bearcats finished the 2017 season with an overall record of 11-19, finishing sixth in the MIVA standings. They lost in the first round of the conference tournament to the three-seeded Grand Canyon University Antelopes. Wyatt Patterson and Maalik Walker were named to the All-MIVA Second Team, while Brendan Schmidt and Pasquale Fiduccia earned honorable mention honors.
In its fifth season, McKendree men's volleyball had their most successful conference campaign in program history, going 6-8 in MIVA action,which included its first ever win against the Lewis University Flyers. The Bearcats earned the #6 seed in the MIVA tournament, falling to the #11 nationally ranked Ball State Cardinals in the quarterfinal round. The Bearcats earned conference honors, including Brendan Schmidt who was named to the All-MIVA First Team.
Sanlin is no stranger to the world of men’s volleyball. For three years, Sanlin has coached boy’s club volleyball programs in the St. Louis metro area. She currently serves as a coach for the St. Louis Performance volleyball program. Sanlin has also been a coach for the USA High Performance program, which is a part of Team USA Volleyball.
In addition to her club experience, Sanlin served as the boy’s head volleyball coach at Althoff Catholic High School in 2011 and 2012. Sanlin is also a member of the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Advisory Committee for boy’s volleyball.
In July of 2016 Sanlin was selected to be a member of the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Diversity Development Team which supports the initiatives of leadership and advancement for aspiring ethnic minority coaches through the NCAA Matching Diversity Grant Program. As one of eight members Sanlin is tasked with the development of programming and the awarding of the annual AVCA Minority Coaches Award.
As a player, Sanlin starred at Marshall University. She was a three-year starter during her career at Marshall, helping the Thundering Herd to a Conference USA title as a senior in 2005. Sanlin registered 245 kills and 84 blocks on her way to second-team All-Conference honors during her senior season. Sanlin also earned All-Tournament honors in leading Marshall to three straight wins on their way to the Conference USA Tournament championship.
