McKendree All-MIVA & AVCA Selections (Nickie Sanlin)
Nickie Sanlin joined the women's volleyball staff in the 2011 season as an assistant coach and took over as head coach in 2014. Following that 2014 season, 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.
At the helm of the women’s program, Sanlin has collected an overall 135-118 record, and a 81-40 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC). At the helm of the men’s program, Sanlin has collected a 107-143 record, and 38-59 in MIVA.
In her first season as head coach for the women’s program, Sanlin led the Bearcats to a 20-14 record, a 2-1 GLVC tournament appearance and their first-ever appearance in the NCAA Volleyball Championship. The Bearcats have made five appearance in the tournament and two appearance in the NCAA regionals under Sanlin’s reign. For the first time in program history, the Bearcats received votes in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division II Coaches poll during the 2017 season. The most successful season in the NCAA for the women’s program came in the 2017 NCAA Midwest Region Tournament and winning the GLVC Central Division.
Sanlin has coached: one AVCA Midwest Region Freshman of the Year recipient, three AVCA All-Midwest Region Team honorees, two AVCA Third-Team All-American honorees, one NCSA All-American Athlete Award recipient, two Division II Conference Commissioners Association All-Midwest Region First Team recipient, one AVCA NCAA Division II All-American Honorable Mention recipient, one GLVC Fall Scholar-Athlete of the Year recipient, two GLVC Freshman of the Year recipients, two GLVC Player of the Year recipients, four First Team All-Conference honorees, six Second Team All-Conference honorees, and one James R. Spalding Individual Sportsmanship Award recipient
The women’s team has also been recognized with five ACVC Team Academic Award and Academic All-GLVC team honors.
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. 25 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. The Bearcats 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 Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne on Feb. 28. Freshman opposite Jared Wilcox, who helped fuel the Bearcats' win, 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 they reached the MIVA Tournament for the first time, after finishing sixth in the regular season standings and upsetting Ball State University in the first round, who ranked 11th in the nation. McKendree fell in the semifinal round to Ohio State, who went on to claim their second national title in the previous five years.
In its fifth season, McKendree men's volleyball had their most successful conference campaign in program history, going 6-8 in MIVA action, including its first ever win against Lewis University. The Bearcats earned the No.6 seed in the MIVA tournament, falling to the No.11 nationally ranked Ball State University in the quarterfinal round. The Bearcats earned conference honors, including Brendan Schmidt who was named First Team All-MIVA.
The 2019 season was full of program firsts for the men's volleyball team under Sanlin's reign. The Bearcats defeated Ohio State for the first time, defeated the highest ranked team McKendree has ever beat No.8 Brigham Young University, and finished the season .500 to host the first round of the MIVA tournament with their fourth-place finish in the league. The Bearcats defeated Ball State in the opening round then fell to Lewis University, a 2019 NCAA Tournament semifinalist.
The 2021 season was the most successful season in program history. Sanlin's leadership propelled her team to ending the regular season 10-5 (9-5 in MIVA). The Bearcats opened the season on an 8-0 winning streak, made their first-ever appearance on the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division I-II Coaches Poll at the No.14 spot on Feb. 15, then reaching as high as No.6. The Bearcats defeated their highest ranked opponent in program history, No.3 Lewis University, in a 3-1 win on February 26.
As a head coach, Sanlin has coached: three All-MIVA recipients, two First Team All-MIVA recipient, six Second Team All-MIVA recipients, two All-Freshman Team recipient, two All-MIVA honorable mentions and one USA men’s volleyball team member Brendan Schmidt. Sanlin has been honored as MIVA Coach of the Year two times in her career (2019, 2021). The men’s team has also been recognized with 2 ACVC Team Academic Awards.
She has served in various capacities for the USA National Team Development Program since 2013. Currently, she is the head coach for the U18-U20 NTDP High Performance Training Series.
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. In 2019, she was promoted to the chair of the AVCA Diversity Development Team.
Sanlin is a Fairview Heights, Ill. native, currently residing in Belleville with her two children, Grace, Micah.
