Lauren Smith
Photo by: Steve Branscombe
Lauren Smith Named a Finalist for Senior CLASS Award
11/3/2016 9:33:00 AM | Volleyball
Senior from Lincoln is one of 10 still in the running for prestigious award
VOTE (DAILY) FOR SMITH: http://www.seniorclassaward.com/vote/volleyball_2016/
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – Creighton Volleyball's Lauren Smith is one of 10 NCAA® women's volleyball student-athletes who excel both on and off the court and were selected today as finalists for the 2016 Senior CLASS Award® in collegiate volleyball. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition. The complete list of finalists follows this release.
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
The finalists were chosen by a selection committee from the list of 30 candidates announced in September. Nationwide fan voting begins immediately, and fans are encouraged to vote on the Senior CLASS Award website through December 5. Fan votes will then be combined with media and Division I head coaches' votes to determine the winner. The Senior CLASS Award recipient will be announced during the 2016 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship in December.
A fifth-year senior from Lincoln, Neb., Smith averages 2.17 kills and 0.94 blocks per set while hitting .344. She is the program's active leader in both career kills (1,062) and career blocks (521), and ranks in the top-10 nationally among active players in sets played (4th), blocks (7th) and matches played (8th). The middle blocker has helped Creighton to a 18-6 record this season, including 12 straight wins in BIG EAST play. 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.
Smith is the first Bluejay Volleyball player to become a finalist for the award, and seeking to become the third student-athlete in school history to take home the award. Former Creighton men's soccer goalkeeper Brian Holt won the 2011 Senior CLASS Award on the pitch, while ex-Creighton men's basketball standout Doug McDermott won the 2014 Senior CLASS Award on the hardwood.
Smith's teammate Jess Bird, who was among the 30 initial candidates, did not make the list after it was trimmed to 10.
For more information on all the finalists, visit seniorCLASSaward.com.
Volleyball Finalists
| Inky Ajanaku, Stanford | Kadie Rolfzen, Nebraska |
| Jazzmin Babers, Texas A&M | Lauren Smith, Creighton |
| Amy Boswell, BYU | Hannah Tapp, Minnesota |
| Katie Brand, Kansas State | Paige Tapp, Minnesota |
| Claire Felix, UCLA | Taylor Whittingham, Southern California |
Players Mentioned
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