Lauren Smith
Photo by: Steve Branscombe
Lauren Smith Advances as BIG EAST Nominee For NCAA Woman of the Year Award
8/1/2017 8:18:00 PM | Volleyball
Volleyball graduate is one of 58 Division I women still in the running
OMAHA, Neb. – Recently-graduated Creighton volleyball standout Lauren Smith is one of two BIG EAST Conference nominees for the NCAA Woman of the Year award. The NCAA Woman of the Year program has recognized graduating female student-athletes for excellence in academics, athletics, community service and leadership since its inception in 1991.
Smith was one of a 543 women student athletes from across the country that were NCAA Woman of the Year nominees from NCAA institutions at all three levels. From that pool, 145 women have now been nominated by conferences for consideration for the 2017 NCAA Woman of the Year Award, including 58 Division I nominees.
In early September, the Woman of the Year selection committee will name the Top 30 honorees, which include 10 women from each division. At the end of September, the selection committee will select and announce nine finalists, with three from each division. They will then select the NCAA Woman of the Year from those finalists on October 22.
A Lincoln, Neb., native who graduated in May, Smith averaged 2.19 kills and 0.92 blocks per set while hitting a team-high .345 in 2016 for the league champion Bluejays. She closed her career with school records for matches played (138), matches started (137), sets played (511) and wins appeared in (104), while also ranking second in attack percentage (.323), third in both total blocks (560) and block assists (499), fourth in both block solos (61) and total points (1482.5) and seventh in both kills (1,160) and blocks per set (1.10). Smith helped her team to a program-best No. 9 national ranking in the AVCA's year-end 2016 poll as well as the program's first Sweet 16 (2015) and Elite Eight (2016). Creighton tied a school-record with 29 wins in 2016, and her teams went a combined 65-7 against BIG EAST competition in the past four years.
Smith was named MVP of the 2014 BIG EAST Championships, and last year named an Honorable-Mention All-American after earning First Team All-BIG EAST and AVCA EAST Region accolades. She is the only player in program history to be named to the BIG EAST All-Tournament team three times. In 2016, Smith was a First Team Senior CLASS Award All-American, Second Team All-BIG EAST honoree and AVCA First Team All-East Region. During her career, she was a part of eight regular season all-tournament squads.
Smith, a four-time member of the BIG EAST All-Academic Team, boasted a 3.53 cumulative GPA while earning a bachelor's degree in marketing and entrepreneurship. The team captain was honored on the Dean's list four times and earned the Creighton's Athletic Achievement Award three times, Athletic Excellence Award four times and Athletic Distinction three times. She was the first Creighton volleyball player to become a finalist for the Senior CLASS Award, which recognizes student-athletes who have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition. Smith was previously recognized as the BIG EAST Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Presented by Sunkist, in February.
Off the court and out of the classroom, Smith volunteered many hours to projects such as Read to Omaha, Siena Francis House, student move-in, Abide painting, Fire Ridge Elementary, Creighton University Welcome Week, Fullerton Elementary School Field Day, Dr. Seuss Reading Day to name a few. Smith also volunteered overseas at the Orphanage of Guazgzhou in China. Through the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), she helped drive initiatives such as the "One Shirt, One Body" and "It's On Us" campaigns. She was also on the planning board for Creighton's Take Back the Night Violence Prevention and Intervention.
Smith was one of a 543 women student athletes from across the country that were NCAA Woman of the Year nominees from NCAA institutions at all three levels. From that pool, 145 women have now been nominated by conferences for consideration for the 2017 NCAA Woman of the Year Award, including 58 Division I nominees.
In early September, the Woman of the Year selection committee will name the Top 30 honorees, which include 10 women from each division. At the end of September, the selection committee will select and announce nine finalists, with three from each division. They will then select the NCAA Woman of the Year from those finalists on October 22.
A Lincoln, Neb., native who graduated in May, Smith averaged 2.19 kills and 0.92 blocks per set while hitting a team-high .345 in 2016 for the league champion Bluejays. She closed her career with school records for matches played (138), matches started (137), sets played (511) and wins appeared in (104), while also ranking second in attack percentage (.323), third in both total blocks (560) and block assists (499), fourth in both block solos (61) and total points (1482.5) and seventh in both kills (1,160) and blocks per set (1.10). Smith helped her team to a program-best No. 9 national ranking in the AVCA's year-end 2016 poll as well as the program's first Sweet 16 (2015) and Elite Eight (2016). Creighton tied a school-record with 29 wins in 2016, and her teams went a combined 65-7 against BIG EAST competition in the past four years.
Smith was named MVP of the 2014 BIG EAST Championships, and last year named an Honorable-Mention All-American after earning First Team All-BIG EAST and AVCA EAST Region accolades. She is the only player in program history to be named to the BIG EAST All-Tournament team three times. In 2016, Smith was a First Team Senior CLASS Award All-American, Second Team All-BIG EAST honoree and AVCA First Team All-East Region. During her career, she was a part of eight regular season all-tournament squads.
Smith, a four-time member of the BIG EAST All-Academic Team, boasted a 3.53 cumulative GPA while earning a bachelor's degree in marketing and entrepreneurship. The team captain was honored on the Dean's list four times and earned the Creighton's Athletic Achievement Award three times, Athletic Excellence Award four times and Athletic Distinction three times. She was the first Creighton volleyball player to become a finalist for the Senior CLASS Award, which recognizes student-athletes who have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition. Smith was previously recognized as the BIG EAST Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Presented by Sunkist, in February.
Off the court and out of the classroom, Smith volunteered many hours to projects such as Read to Omaha, Siena Francis House, student move-in, Abide painting, Fire Ridge Elementary, Creighton University Welcome Week, Fullerton Elementary School Field Day, Dr. Seuss Reading Day to name a few. Smith also volunteered overseas at the Orphanage of Guazgzhou in China. Through the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), she helped drive initiatives such as the "One Shirt, One Body" and "It's On Us" campaigns. She was also on the planning board for Creighton's Take Back the Night Violence Prevention and Intervention.
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