Smith Is Digging Playing Volleyball for UCLA

Nine family members before her attended UCLA.

So when Bruin volleyball coach Mike Smith came calling, Corona del Mar alum Madie Smith had no trouble choosing her college.

"It's something of a family tradition," she said Friday morning, before UCLA beat Pacific-10 rival Oregon, 3-1, in Eugene.

It was the Bruins' third straight victory and seventh in their last nine games. On Sunday they faced Oregon State with only crosstown rival USC left on their pursuit of an NCAA tournament berth.

Being in the midst of a tournament run is an exciting experience, Smith said.

"This is incredible, being a part of this," she said. "The girls who've been through it before say there's nothing like the tournament."

Though only a freshman, Smith has familiarity with playoff atmosphere. Corona del Mar made CIF playoff runs in each of her four varsity seasons.

The Seak Kings had runner-up finishes in Southern Section Division II and the state playoffs in 2008 and 2009. They won four league titles with Smith in the lineup.

She played alongside other future NCAA Division I talents, including fellow Pac-10 member Conley Kipp of Washington State.

However, Smith said, the competition is now on an entirely different level.  She's adjusted to the speed of the college game, ranking second among all Bruins with 108 assists.

She led Orange County with 1,098 assists as a senior, with 23 aces, 92 kills and 254 digs.

"There's less pressure on me now since I have a smaller role," she said. "But everything's so much bigger at this level. It's the Pac-10. We have matches on TV.

"It's a lot more intense."

Smith has seen, firsthand, the increased demands of college, both on the court and in the classroom.

She credits her high school coach, Darryl Gan, and her Orange County Volleyball club coaches for readying her for the pace of the NCAA game, and her Corona del Mar teachers for readying her for classes.

"The teachers [at CDM] treated our classes like college classes, assigning a lot of [essays] to get us ready," she said.

And that preparation proved invaluable.

"I'm the youngest [in the family]. I couldn't wait to get out of the house," Smith said. "UCLA has such a beautiful campus. I'm not far [from home], but I'm too busy to go home all the time."

Notebook

 Aliso Niguel alum and current St. Louis Cardinal, Skip Schumaker, is hosting a youth baseball clinic in Laguna Niguel, Dec. 20-22. Children ages 7-14 are invited. 

Schumaker, an All-CIF Southern Section honoree in 1997, batted .265 with 42 runs batted in for the Cardinals this past season.

For more information on the clinic, check here.

 ###

Penn's 31-7 football thrashing of Cornell yesterday sealed a second consecutive Ivy League title for the Quakers. The Penn defense finished ranked in the top five among Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA), and leading this year's unit was Corona del Mar's Eric Rask.

Rask, a standout for the Sea King football and basketball teams, was Penn's leading tackler this season with 65, eight of which were for a loss, and 3.5 sacks.

###

Dana Hills alum Nick Kaspar and his San Jose State teammates play their final home football game of 2010 Saturday against Louisiana Tech. The Spartans are looking for their second victory of the season.

Kaspar, a 6-foot-5, 270-pound freshman offensive lineman, lettered in football, basketball and track and field as a Dolphin.

###

Is there a local alum we should know about? Contact Kyle Kensing at  kkensing@gmail.com