Volleyball player Maria Sanabia ‘27, who dons jersey No. 13, has been making waves during this action-packed season with the Loyola Greyhounds.
The 6 feet tall middle blocker is from Odenton, Maryland, where she played for Archbishop Spalding High School. There, she received seven varsity letters, three being in volleyball and four in basketball. Sanabia earned All-Anne Arundel County honors each of her last three years playing volleyball. She also was named to the All-Annapolis Capital Gazette Team in 2022.
This 2024 season she has had a high of eight kills, three digs, and nine points against Army West Point on Sept. 28. She also had a high of four blocks against Lehigh on Oct. 4. She has an attack percentage of .214 and has totaled 47 kills so far. With the team’s most recent game against Colgate University, she led the team with five blocks and was fourth with seven kills. In her 2023 season, she received Patriot League Honor Roll.
Sanabia started to play volleyball when her mom asked her to before her freshman year of high school. She went to four camps and it was where she was discovered to play due to her athleticism. Sanabia then played for Columbia Volleyball Academy.
“I didn’t want to play because I was focused on basketball,” Sanabia said.
Her freshman year of high school, her team went undefeated. Sanabia said that her class was so fun and that was what made the sport so enjoyable. Her sophomore year got cut short due to COVID-19. In her junior and senior years, her team made it to championships, but lost both times.
“Even if we didn’t win, it still kept me motivated,” Sanabia said.
Her plans for college were originally for basketball, but volleyball ended up being her end goal. Sanabia said that her high school team and the championship were the reasons why she wanted to go further with playing volleyball. She had so much fun with the team and the coach.
“I knew I didn’t want to play basketball. I knew I had four more years,” Sanabia said.
Her personal goal is to get used to the speed of college volleyball, since it is her first year playing. She wants to get stronger in the weight room and aspires to be a team leader. For the team, she wants to take it week by week and to try to go as far as possible in the Patriot League.
“We all have fun together and we just aim to enjoy each other,” Sanabia said.
Sanabia wants the team to come back better and for everyone to be a support to each other. She is appreciative of how everyone comes to support the games and the support system of the team itself.
“When people you don’t know come to tell you, ‘Good game,’ it is stuff like that which always motivates us to play,” Sanabia said.
The team currently has an 8-7 record in conference play. Their next game is against Bucknell on Friday, Nov. 15 at 7 p.m. in Reitz Arena.
