FORMER BRYANT STANDOUT SARAH SMITH NAMED AMONG THE THIRTY UNDER 30 BY AVCA

March 3, 2010

FORMER BRYANT STANDOUT SARAH SMITH NAMED AMONG THE THIRTY UNDER 30 BY AVCA

SMITHFIELD, R.I. -- Former Bryant University volleyball standout Sarah Smith ('03) was named one of the AVCA's Thirty Under 30, a recognition given out to honor the 30 top up-and-coming coaches across all levels of the volleyball world under 30 years old.

The award, first given out in 2009, recognized nine Division II coaches, including Smith, who is the head coach at Shepherd University in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. In her fourth season at Shepherd, Smith led the Rams to a 21-12 overall record with a 12-2 conference mark in 2009. Her team's second-place regular-season conference finish was the best for the Rams since the 1982 season.

Assistant coaches made up 19 of the recipients, while 11 more were head coaches. Eight are NCAA Division I women's coaches, three are NCAA Division III women's coaches, three coach NCAA Division I-II men, two are from two-year colleges, two are club coaches and one is a high school girl's coach. Two of the recipients also double-up as club coaches.