2018 Volleyball Roster
Sep 12 (Fri)
6 PM
Alexa Smith
- Position:
- Outside Hitter
- Height:
- 6-1
- Class:
- Senior
- Hometown:
- Colorado Springs, Colo.
- High School:
- Lewis Palmer/Purdue
Mahoney on Smith
“Our top point-scorer from last season - Lex is also our most complete all-around player. She affects the game in all areas: she is an efficient attacker, an elite passer, and lethal from the serving line. When Lex plays well, our team plays well.”
As a Junior in 2017
Smith had another outstanding season for the Buffs starting in all 32 games played in. She led the team in kills (484), total attacks (1,330), and total points (531.0), and had the second most digs on the team (345). Smith’s 3.97 kills per set average ranked seventh in the Pac-12 and 50th in the NCAA. Her 4.34 points per set also gave her the seventh best mark in the Pac-12, and was 60th in the NCAA. With 1,330 total attacks, Smith led her team and was 33rd best in the NCAA. Smith was named to the NIKE Invitational All-Tournament team after leading CU to three wins. In that tournament she tallied 50 kills and hit .351 while adding 23 digs. She was also named the Omni Invitational MVP after she hit .437 in two matches with 23 kills and just two errors on 28 attacks. In the five-set win over Illinois (9/9), Smith tallied a then-season-best 19 kills while adding 12 digs for a double-double. In CU’s upset win over No.22 Colorado State (9/16), she recorded a then-career-high 25 kills with 15 digs. That outstand performance earned her Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week, CU Athlete of the Week, and VolleyMob National Player of the Week. She went on to tie her then-career-high kills (25) in matches against Stanford (9/24) and Arizona (10/15). Smith hammered a career-high 27 kills in the Buff’s tough 3-2 loss to UCLA (10/21). Smith recorded 17 total double-doubles on the season, and recorded over 20 kills in eight matches. With this incredible season, Smith was honored as an All-Pac-12 First Team selection, NCAA Waco Sub-Regional All-Tournament Team, AVCA All-Pacific South Region, and AVCA Second Team All-American.
As a Sophomore in 2016
Smith made an immediate impact on the team, joining the Buffs as a sophomore. She earned a starting position right out of the gate and played in 120 of 121 sets. A starter in all 30 matches, Smith led the team with 3.17 kills per set and her 380 total kills ranked 11th in the Pac-12. Her 380 kills, combined with a team-best 21 aces and 54 blocks, gave Smith 429.5 points (3.58 points per set) for the season. Defensively she was second on the team with 2.61 digs per set. Smith made her debut for CU against Texas Tech (8/26) and totaled a career-high 23 kills while adding eight digs. Her first double-double of the season came in the following match vs. Portland State (8/27) when she tallied 14 kills and 15 digs. Smith also had a big weekend at the Pac-12/Big 10 Challenge the following weekend, picking up another pair of double-doubles. She notched 12 kills and 18 digs against then-No. 13 Penn State and 11 kills and 13 digs against then-No. 17 Illinois as the Buffs recorded a pair of five-set upsets. After helping the Buffs to a 3-0 weekend at the Omni Invitational, which included their first win over Colorado State since 2002 where Smith recorded 21 kills while hitting .391 with 10 digs and two blocks, she was named the tournament’s MVP, averaging 4.11 kills, 1.33 digs and 0.44 blocks per set while hitting .378. Smith performed very well during the Pac-12 season and only had five matches with less than 10 kills. During the season, she recorded 13 double-doubles and reached 20 kills in three matches.
As a Freshman in 2015 (at Purdue)
Smith saw action in 33 matches and started in 10. Smith recorded 10 double-doubles, which included a 13 kills and 13 digs performance against No. 7 Ohio State. In a match against Northwestern, she picked up a season-best 14 digs. Smith recorded a season-high .529 hitting efficiency against Austin Peay, which included nine kills on 17 errorless swings. Smith averaged 2.05 digs per set (227 total digs), the third most on the team. She also recorded 80 kills, 21 aces and 20 blocks. Smith received 527 serves and committed just 31 errors for a .941 reception percentage.
High School
The Lewis Palmer High School graduate was a much decorated athlete. She was named the 2015 High School Player of the Year by the National High School Coaches Association as well as the 2014 Colorado Gatorade Player of the Year. Smith was listed at No. 7 among PrepVolleyball.com’s Senior Aces and was a Volleyball Magazine Fab 50 selection. MaxPreps named her the 2014 National Player of the Year and Smith garnered AVCA Under Armour High School All-American first team honors. After helping LPHS to its second straight state championship in 2014 (with a 29-0 mark), Smith was named to the American Family Insurance All-USA first team.
As a junior, Smith was named PrepVolleyball.com’s National Junior Player of the Year, CHSAA 4A Player of the Year, first team all-state and earned MaxPreps.com All-American accolades.
Smith was a member of the USA Volleyball Junior National team in 2013 and ’14. She won a gold medal in 2014 at the NORCECA Continental U20 Championships in Guatemala. In 2013, she was a member of the 2013 USAV Youth National Team that won a silver medal at the FIVB U18 World Championships in Thailand.
She was a member of the Colorado Juniors Volleyball Club.
Personal
Alexa Kristine Smith was born on December 14, 1996 in Redondo Beach, Calif. She is the daughter of Brett and Livia Smith of Colorado Springs, Colo. and has one brother, Justin, who played basketball at Idaho State. Smith enjoys hiking, baking and cooking.
Academics
Smith is majoring in business administration with an emphasis in marketing and has a GPA greater than 3.20.
