April 28, 2009
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern head volleyball coach Keylor Chan announced the addition of Aaron Smith to the Wildcat coaching staff. Smith will serve as an assistant coach, with video coordination, camps and clinics and recruiting serving as his major responsibilities.
"I am very excited to add Aaron to our volleyball program," said Chan. "Aaron is a talented coach with great potential, and his background as a student-athlete both collegiately and professionally coupled with his time at Wake Forest make him an ideal fit for Northwestern. I believe he understands our goals and directives and will help our program earn a bid back to the NCAA tournament in 2009. "
Smith comes to Northwestern from Wake Forest where he served as a volunteer assistant for the Demon Deacons this past season. Wake finished 19-13 in 2008, the program's best record since 2003, and posted a program-best 14-3 record at home.
He also served as the head coach of the Set Point Volleyball Club in Winston-Salem, comprised of the top 16 year olds, and Smith led the team to a fourth-place finish at the Big South Qualifier. He has also spent the past two years as camp counselor at Wake Forest's Black and Gold Volleyball Camp.
Smith spent one year as a professional volleyball player in Tarragona, Spain, competing for Club Tarragona St. Pere y St. Pau in Spain's 1st Division. He started at the outside hitter position, helping lead team maintain its 1st Division status after posting a winning season in 2007-08.
A native of Forest, Va., Smith played collegiately at Penn State, serving as a team captain in 2007. He currently ranks 14th all-time in Nittany Lion history in both digs (499) and aces (58) while also registering 166 kills as a senior. Smith, a former Virginia High School Player of the Year, graduated with a degree in Landscape Contracting Management from Penn State in 2007.