WAYNESBORO, Pa. — Emily Nystrom did not expect to begin the 2026-27 school year as the head coach of the Waynesboro Maidens varsity volleyball team.
She was on vacation the day Kim Saunders died unexpectedly. Saunders was about to enter her 15th season as the head coach of the Maidens, just one week before the beginning of pre-season practices.
“Coaching wasn’t even on my radar,” said Nystrom. “My heart and focus are entirely on our players, Kim’s family and how our community is going to pull through this. It’s purely about processing the horrific news, supporting one another, taking the time to grieve and figure out how we are going to take the next step together.”
Like many, the news of Saunders’ passing left Nystrom stunned.
“I was in absolute disbelief,” Nystrom said. “It took a while for the reality of it to begin to process with me, and, honestly, I still don’t think it has. When someone plays such an important role in your life as a friend and a coach, you almost view them as invincible. Hearing that news completely froze me.”
Life goes on, but grief is a process. Time may offer distance from the loss of one of Waynesboro’s best coaches, but the realization that Saunders was taken at a relatively young age (she was 53) will leave a void not easily filled by the passage of time.
Former Maidens volleyball head coach Jay Heefner, whose tenure spanned 19 years (1979-1995, 1997 and 1998), was also taken aback by the news.
“I got a call from Dave Weber,” he said. “I was absolutely shocked. I was totally stunned. I hadn’t talked to Kim for several months. I wasn’t aware of any physical problems. She was always a private person.”
Saunders played volleyball in middle school, high school, college (Morgan State University and Drexel University). She also assisted at the college level in North Carolina before returning to south-central Pennsylvania.
“Over the years watching her coach, I always found it fascinating just to watch her on the bench, her focus, her eyes, her intensity,” Heefner said. “She didn’t yell, but it was a straightforward message that this is what I want you to do.
“I look forward to celebrating her life. I have been quite emotional. It’s good talking about it. I would hope that I had some kind of influence. I hope I was some kind of role model, just like she hoped she was a role model for her kids.”
Nystrom echoed Heefner’s feelings about Saunders.
“Kim was the heartbeat of Maidens volleyball for the last 15 years,” said Nystrom, who was named the interim head coach for the 2026 season. “Her love for the program went far beyond the court. She helped build a culture of pride, grit and excellence.
“She didn’t just teach the game; she instilled a lifelong love for it, making the Maidens uniform mean something special to everyone who wore it. For her players, she was a mentor, a role model and a champion who most of the time believed in them before they believed in themselves.
“Above all else, Kim’s devotion to her family was the center of her world. The love, strength and values she gave them remain her most enduring gift, serving as her true foundation for everything she accomplished.”
Saunders leaves behind her husband, Mark, and son, Ethan. She is also survived by her mother, Ann Spottswood, and her sister, Michelle Spottswood.
“She was my first hire,” said WASHS athletic director Eric McIlquham.
What a hire she was.
The Maidens defeated Big Spring 3-0 in Saunders’ first match as head coach on Sept. 4, 2012.
Two days later, Waynesboro upset defending conference champion Shippensburg 3-1 on the road in the second match of the season.
Years later, Saunders reminisced about her fondest memories of her coaching career. It was during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 that shuttered the spring sports season.
She recognized numerous players who spearheaded the Sept. 6, 2012, win over the Greyhounds.
“Dori Kozain and Hannah Kauffman were establishing our middle attack, while Megan Biesecker was handling the setting duties. Our libero, Sierra Davies, kept us defensively in the match, and Zoe Harris provided the powerful line shot kill. The amount of noise and chatter on the bus ride home was amazing.”
Perhaps the most profound of memories occurred on Oct. 22, 2015. The Maidens defeated Northern York 3-0 (25-18, 25-22, 25-13) to secure an undefeated regular season, 20-0.
“The senior class set a goal, worked hard and made the dream a realization,” Saunders recalled. “They will forever have the memories and the uniqueness of this team.”
During the previous week, Waynesboro earned its back-to-back Mid-Penn Capital Division championship with a gutsy five-set win over rival Greencastle-Antrim.
“The 2015 team was willing on any given night to take a leading or a supporting role. It wasn’t just saying for its own sake. They walked the walk.”
Saunders earned her 100th win during the 2019 season. She notched her 200th win during the 2025 campaign. Her combined record between the 2014 and 2015 seasons was 37-4.
As a player at Waynesboro Area Senior High School, Saunders was part of a 1989 team that placed third in the state, and Saunders was named First Team All-Blue Mountain League three times. She was an All-State selection three times as well.
In 2012, she was hired to coach the varsity team, bringing her volleyball life full circle.
Up until the landmark 2019 season, Waynesboro won two Mid-Penn Capital Division titles, earned six District 3 playoff berths, had 16 first-team conference selections, 11 second-team conference selections, three conference honorable mentions, two District 3 honorable mentions, a conference Most Valuable Player (Rachel Eyler in 2014) and, for Saunders, four Coach of the Year awards.
“Kim possessed a genuine gift: she saw people. Whether you were a player, a co-worker, a friend, a family member or someone she met just once, she had the ability to make you feel valued and seen. She cared deeply about who you were as a person.
“Kim leaves behind a community of better athletes, stronger leaders and kinder human beings simply because she was a part of their lives.”
During her tenure, Saunders strived for a balance between sports and life.
She gave time to charitable causes like Relay for Life and Breast Cancer Awareness. Waynesboro has participated with the BRS Challengers program, volunteering during local volleyball clinics and starting a youth volleyball program.
“The academic focus remains, and the program wholeheartedly supports other school activities and sports teams,” Saunders said.
When the Maidens won the conference title in 2014, it was their first since 1997.
Nystrom, who played under Heefner in the late 1990s, would join the coaching staff five years later.
“I was honored to spend seven incredible years by Kim’s side as her assistant,” Nystrom said. “During that time, she showed me what true coaching really looks like. I want to emulate her approach to developing young women on and off the court. Kim taught me that coaching goes far beyond the gymnasium. It’s about setting high standards and expectations in every area of life.
“Moving forward, my goal is to carry on that standard, pushing our players to be outstanding students in the classroom, fierce competitors on the court and exceptional young ladies in our community.”
