Sports News Southwest

Yuma, Arizona - Arizona Western College has announced that AWC Head Volleyball Coach Jason Smith has resigned to become an assistant volleyball coach at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas. 

 

Smith leaves the college after giving the Matadors’ Volleyball program the shot in the arm that it needed over the last two years. When Smith arrived in 2006, he inherited a very successful program-but one that needed a boost in the level of talent. The former Utes’ recruiting coordinator went right to work, working his numerous contacts to bring in a very talented initial crop of recruits, including reigning ’07 ACCAC Player of the Year and NJCAA All-American Patty Paniagua. Despite being undermanned a bit, Smith led the 2006 Matador Volleyball squad to their 7^th straight Region I title and a berth in the District A Finals, which they lost to Salt Lake Community College. Smith continued to work the recruiting wire heavily in the spring of 2007, and brought in a hugely talented recruiting class, led by Brazilian talents Luci Toazzi and Ana Bauer and Utah product Kimee Clark. The combination of Paniagua, Toazzi, Bauer and Clark was a powerful one, and led the Matadors to their first ACCAC Volleyball regular season title since 2004 and their 8^th straight Region I Championship this past November. The Lady Matadors’ quest for their first NJCAA Tournament berth fell just short in the District A Championship Game against Salt Lake, but their 26-9 overall mark was their best record since 2004. Smith’s 2-year career at AWC ends with an overall mark of 46 wins and 27 losses, with a 27-9 record in conference play. Even more impressive than the Lady Matadors’ accomplishments on the volleyball court was what they achieved in the classroom during Smith’s two years. The AWC Volleyball team was just named an NJCAA Fall Academic Team of the Year two weeks ago-the second straight year that the student-athletes have achieved the honor by having a cumulative 3.0 grade point average or higher. “We’re extremely pleased about the direction Jason has taken the Matador Volleyball team,” remarked AWC Athletic Director Jerry Smith. “In his two years here, we’re extremely pleased with not only the athletic success but the academic success as both of his squads were named NJCAA Academic All-America Teams. We’re sorry to see him go, but pleased that he has the opportunity to improve his opportunities for a successful volleyball career.”