SMC California Athletics

AS A FIFTH YEAR (2021)
Indoor: One of two Gaels to appear in all 27 matches, and the only Gael to start in every match during her final season...was named First Team All-WCC for the first time in her career following...set the SMC single-season record for best hitting percentage with a .361 clip, besting the previous record of .355...finished the year with 166 kills and just 32 attack errors, finishing as the top non-BYU attacker in the conference...set a career-best with 24 service aces...led the team with 111 total blocks, including 16 solo blocks...finishes her Saint Mary's career with the ninth most total blocks (317)...set a career-best with 12 kills against CSU Bakersfield on September 10...only five times this year did Laird have a hitting percentage below .200.

AS A SENIOR (2020-21)
Indoor: Started all 17 matches for the Gaels during the 2021 spring season...racked up five solo blocks and 53 assisted blocks during the season, both leading the Gaels and eighth-best in the WCC...was a blocking machine in the middle of the season, where she averaged 4.5 blocks per match of a nine-match stretch, including a career-best 10 blocks against Pacific on March 9...won WCC Defensive Player of the Week following that performance, the first Gael to win a weekly award from the WCC since 2013...second on the team with 17 aces...ended the season with 80 kills and a 25% attack percentage...named All-WCC Honorable Mention for the first time in his career...named WCC All-Academic Honorable Mention.

Beach: Along with partner Morgan Kendrick, combined to be the only Gaels to play in all 23 matches on the season...led the Gaels with 14 wins, compiling a 14-9 record...spent time as the SMC third, fourth, and fifth pair...went 5-2 in the threes and 8-7 in the fours...scored ranked wins on the year against #18 Stanford, #9 Cal, #11 Pepperdine, and #6 Cal Poly...named WCC All-Academic First Team.

AS A JUNIOR (2019-20)
Indoor: Played in 23 matches and 78 sets for Saint Mary’s over the course of the 2019 season...Named an WCC-All Academic honorable mention at the end of the season...Completed the year with 98 kills and an average of 1.26 per set...Recorded 56 total blocks on the year (six block solos and 50 block assists) and was tied for fourth-best on the team...Collected a season-high seven blocks against Middle Tennessee on September 7.

Beach: Appeared in all eight matches for the Gaels during the 2020 season…along with teammate Kelsey Knudsen, went 4-4 on the year, going 4-1 over their final five matches…picked up their first win of the year over No. 20 Stanford on February 29…won their only conference bout against Santa Clara on March 10.

AS A SOPHOMORE (2018-19)
Indoor: Played in 28 matches and 104 sets during the 2018 season ... Recorded the second most blocks on the team with 81 and collected her season-high six blocks against LMU on Nov. 3 ... Also collected her season-high 12 kills during the match versus LMU ... Was one of six Gaels who recorded over 100 kills on the season (142) ... Hit a .231 with five kills and three blocks during the NCAA Tournament match against #22 Washington.

Beach: Recorded an 18-11 record during the 2019 beach season ... Played the first portion of the season with Morgan Kendrick (9-7) before switching to play with Chandler Cowell (9-4) ... Was a part of one of the pairs who contributed to the early season sweep of No. 11 ranked Stanford on Februrary 24 with partner Kendrick... Beat No. 20 ranked Stanford again in early April with partner Cowell ... Helped the Gaels secure third place at the WCC Championships.

AS A FRESHMAN (2017-18)
Indoor: Appeared in 18 of the Gaels' 28 matches in her rookie season ... Made her collegiate debut on Sept. 1 versus UMBC, taking one swing and recording her first career block ... Totaled 95 kills, 43 blocks (5th on the team) and 17 digs ... Had a season-best 11 kills while hitting .435 at Pepperdine on Sept. 30 ... Totaled 10 kills versus No. 8 BYU on Oct. 5 ... Tallied multiple blocks in 11 matches, posting a season-best five blocks twice (versus LMU on Oct. 28, versus Portland on Nov. 16). 

Beach: Named to the 2018 All-WCC Beach Volleyball Freshman Team ... In her debut beach season, Laird appeared in twelve matches with three different partners ... She went 6-6 individually on the season, all at the No. 5 spot ... Partnered with Morgan Kendrick to go 4-4, including victories over Sacramento State, Santa Clara and San Francisco ... She and Kendrick teamed to beat nationally ranked Loyola Marymount’s No. 5 pair of Reinig and Whitford on March 29 in Santa Monica ... Also went 1-1 with Kelsey Knudsen at No. 5 pairs, sweeping rival San Francisco on March 3 at Stanford.

PRIOR TO SAINT MARY'S: Laird posted impressive numbers in multiple categories during four years of varsity volleyball at Mission Prep High School …  She totaled nearly 1,000 kills (912) in four years and had 1,091 digs earning nearly 400 kills (397) as a senior while hitting an impressive .416 in the fall of 2016 alone … Laird also served as a strong blocker with more than 200 career blocks … Her serving game was a strength as well, notching more than 25 aces each season for four straight years, totaling 142 in her career … In the fall of 2016, Laird was nominated as PAC 8 Most Valuable Player, first team all-league and first team all-county for her dominating senior campaign … In 2016, her team won a PAC 8 title and made it to the second round of the California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section Division IV playoffs while … The Royals made the CIF Southern Section playoffs in all four years of Laird's tenure on the team.

Get To Know Jennifer "Boo" Laird

Favorite volleyball memory: Making the NCAA tournament last year

Favorite holiday: Christmas.

What do you love most about Saint Mary's: How beautiful the campus is.

What do you love most about SMC Volleyball: How funny the girls are. Oh and our occasional dance parties in the locker room.

Favorite food or meal: My dad's ribs with his homemade BBQ sauce, my mom's rice pilaf and her lemon salad with homemade croutons.

Top-3 Favorite Songs: Latch - Disclosure, You Make My Dreams Come True - Daryl Hall & John Oates, Call On Me - Starley (Ryan Riback Remix).

Favorite books: Harry Potter series, Tuesdays with Morrie, The Giver.

Favorite movies: Monsters, Inc. (I had to put it)

Favorite Hobbies: Hiking, snowboarding, wake boarding, dirt biking, camping and playing the piano

One thing everyone should do in their lifetime: Hike Angels Landing at Zion National Park

Describe yourself in one word: Dependable.

Favorite songs: 

More than a Feeling -Boston

I got you- Jack Johnson

P.Y.T - Michael Jackson