Grace's Alexandra Smith To Play Volleyball At MTSU

Lady Golden Eagles Junior Already Has Impressive Statistics

  • Monday, February 1, 2016
  • John Hunt
Alexandra Smith, a junior at Grace Academy, will continue her volleyball career at Middle Tennessee State University following the completion of her senior year. Smith, shown above in a 2015 match against Silverdale, already holds the Lady Golden Eagle kills record with 1,317.
Alexandra Smith, a junior at Grace Academy, will continue her volleyball career at Middle Tennessee State University following the completion of her senior year. Smith, shown above in a 2015 match against Silverdale, already holds the Lady Golden Eagle kills record with 1,317.
photo by Dennis Norwood/File

Alexandra Smith was well on her way to becoming an outstanding high school softball player until she was introduced to the sport of volleyball.

And now as she works to complete her junior year at Grace Baptist Academy, her dream of playing at the next level has been realized and will be coming to pass in the coming months.

Smith is a four-year starter for Grace and she already holds the school record with 1,317 kills.  In addition, she has tallied 1,558 digs, 351 aces and 152 blocks.

Not too bad for the slender 17-year-old of Kim and Aaron Smith.

She originally was planning to attend Carson-Newman and play for coach Dan Ahiers, but he's taken the head coaching job at Middle Tennessee State University.  After a recent visit to the sprawling Murfreesboro campus, Smith will be headed there instead of Jefferson City.

"Coach Ahiers called me and asked if I'd like to make an unofficial to see what's being offered at MTSU," Smith said Monday afternoon shortly after classes had dismissed for the day.

"I met a bunch of new friends and totally fell in love with the campus and all the facilities they have to offer.  They also have a brand new science building and all I could focus on was all the labs they have," she said, knowing that she wants to major in Biology or Chemistry with plans to someday be a research scientist that concentrates on the study of diseases.

"I was so nervous when I went up there as it's a huge school and also Division One, but it's always been my dream to play at that level and it's such a relief to get that decision out of the way," she said, admitting that she had also been shown interest from such schools as North Carolina, Chattanooga, Elon and Emory.

Smith has the ability to completely take over a match at any given point and has done so on several occasions in recent years.  Her most recent season didn't finish as planned as she suffered a sprained ankle and tore some ligaments in the process during a Powder Puff football game.

She missed the entire district tournament and almost two weeks of practice leading up to the region tournament.  By the time she returned to action, the sharp edge had been taken away and she wasn't nearly as effective in a tough loss to Sale Creek.

But for a young lady who has a perfect 4.0 grade point average and is in the top 10 of her class academically, volleyball has become her sport and she's much more than a hard hitter in the middle.

"I have a heavy hitting arm, but I've been blessed to have some really good coaches along the way, including Hillary Waters who has been my coach at Grace the past four years.  I feel like I know the game pretty well as I can pass, set and hit.  Basically, I can play any position on the court," the older sister to Abigail said with confidence.

Waters is blessed to have a young lady like Alex Smith on her team and she knows that her presence alone makes those around her even better.

"She's certainly one of a kind and a very Godly young lady.  She also happens to be a phenomenal athlete," Waters expressed Monday afternoon.

"She's been a starter since the eighth grade and a real leader both on and off the court.  She's very giving of herself and always looking to do the right thing.  She always encourages her teammates to believe in themselves, but she's tougher on herself than anybody else.  She's never satisfied with just winning.

"Alex just needs to stay off that ankle so it can completely heal, but she's just too active.  She has a skill level above anyone around and I wouldn't trade her for anybody else.  She's a confident young lady without being cocky and she fully believes that she can compete with anyone on any level.

"I'm thankful that I can put her in any position and she'll come through every time, no matter if it's Middle Hitter, Outside Hitter, Middle Back or Left Back.  We've had some incredible success here at Grace in recent years and Alex is one of the main reasons why.  I'm just thankful to have her for one more season," Waters concluded.

In addition to being a talented athlete, she also excels in the classroom and is active in the Beta Club, the National Honor Society and Student Government in addition to being the Chaplain of the junior class.

Smith was a Best of Preps first-team selection in 2015 and a member of the All-Region Tournament team.  She was MVP for District 5-A in 2014 in addition to being selected to the District and Regional all-tournament teams and she was also on the all-district tournament teams in 2013 and 2012.

(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)

Grace Academy's Alexandra Smith (14), shown above in a match against Boyd-Buchanan from last season, has chosen to play her college ball at MTSU following her senior season with the Lady Golden Eagles. In addition to her kills record, Smith also has 1,558 digs, 351 aces and 152 blocks.
Grace Academy's Alexandra Smith (14), shown above in a match against Boyd-Buchanan from last season, has chosen to play her college ball at MTSU following her senior season with the Lady Golden Eagles. In addition to her kills record, Smith also has 1,558 digs, 351 aces and 152 blocks.
photo by Dennis Norwood/File
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