Great Lakes Wire

Senior outside hitter Jacqueline Smith from Northern Michigan University's volleyball team has been recognized for her outstanding performance by being named to the D2CCA and AVCA All-Midwest Region First Teams. The announcements were made on Wednesday.

Smith played a crucial role in leading the Wildcats to a 20-9 season and received All-GLIAC First Team honors for the fifth consecutive year. She concluded her career with an impressive 1,927 kills, becoming the program's all-time leader on October 5 against Lake Superior State. This achievement surpassed Andrea Gommans' previous record of 1,664 kills, which had stood since 1993.

Originating from Saint Germain, Wisconsin, Smith led all GLIAC players with 416 kills during the regular season, ranking within the top 20 nationally. She achieved over 20 kills in eight matches and double figures in 26 out of 28 matches. Notably, she recorded a career-high of 28 kills against rival Michigan Tech on October 30.

In addition to her offensive skills, Smith was also effective defensively. She recorded a personal best of 19 digs against Michigan Tech on October 30 and reached a milestone of 1,000 career digs. This accomplishment made her the eighteenth player in NMU history to achieve this feat. Over the season, she accumulated a total of 456 kills with a .249 attack percentage, along with contributing significantly in other areas such as digs (310), service aces (34), and total blocks (38).