Creighton’s Lauren Smith Named BIG EAST Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year
This highly-decorated volleyball senior will be awarded a $4,000 scholarship, which can be applied to postgraduate studies.
NEW YORK – Creighton senior volleyball standout Lauren Smith was named the BIG EAST Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Presented by Sunkist, the league announced on Wednesday. A middle blocker on the three-time BIG EAST Champion Bluejays, Smith will be awarded a $4,000 scholarship, which may be applied to graduate or professional studies. Smith is Creighton’s first BIG EAST Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year. The selection was made by the Conference’s Academic Affairs Committee.
The Conference also announced the female winners of the 2016-17 BIG EAST Institutional Scholar-Athlete Scholarships, Presented by Sunkist. Each institutional winner receives $2,000 toward graduate studies.
A fifth-year senior from Lincoln, Neb., Smith averaged 2.19 kills and 0.92 blocks per set while hitting a team-high .345 in 2016. She closed her career with school records for matches played (138), matches started (137), sets played (511) and wins appeared in (104), while also ranking second in attack percentage (.323), third in both total blocks (560) and block assists (499), fourth in both block solos (61) and total points (1482.5) and seventh in both kills (1,160) and blocks per set (1.10). Smith helped her team to a program-best No. 9 national ranking in the AVCA’s year-end 2016 poll as well as the program’s first Sweet 16 (2015) and Elite Eight (2016). Creighton tied a school-record with 29 wins in 2016, and her teams went a combined 65-7 against BIG EAST competition in the past four years.
Smith was named MVP of the 2014 BIG EAST Championships, and last year named an Honorable-Mention All-American after earning First Team All-BIG EAST and AVCA EAST Region accolades. She is the only player in program history to be named to the BIG EAST All-Tournament team three times. In 2016, Smith was a First Team Senior CLASS Award All-American, Second Team All-BIG EAST honoree and AVCA First Team All-East Region. During her career, she has been a part of eight regular season all-tournament squads.
Smith, a three-time member of the BIG EAST All-Academic Team, boasted a 3.46 cumulative GPA while pursuing a bachelor’s degree in marketing and entrepreneurship. The team captain has been honored on the Dean’s list four times and has earned Creighton’s Athletic Achievement Award twice, Athletic Excellence Award three times and Athletic Distinction twice. She was the first Creighton volleyball player to become a finalist for the Senior CLASS Award, which recognizes student-athletes who have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition.
Off the court and out of the classroom, Smith volunteered many hours to projects such as Read to Omaha, Siena Francis House, student move-in, Abide painting, Fire Ridge Elementary, Creighton University Welcome Week, Fullerton Elementary School Field Day, Dr. Seuss Reading Day to name a few. Smith also volunteered overseas at the Orphanage of Guazgzhou in China. Through the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), the senior helped drive initiatives such as the “One Shirt, One Body” and “It’s On Us” campaigns. She was also on the planning board for Creighton’s Take Back the Night Violence Prevention and Intervention.
The BIG EAST Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year was announced in conjunction with the BIG EAST Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year. The BIG EAST Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year was from Butler University, David Goldsmith of the men’s soccer team. The conference will also announce a Women’s Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year on Feb. 28, preceding the league’s tournament. The Men’s Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year will be announced at the awards press conference on March 8 at Madison Square Garden, preceding the Men’s Basketball Tournament.
Twenty student-athletes (one male and one female from each of the BIG EAST’s 10 member institutions) will be named as BIG EAST Institutional Scholar-Athlete award winners.
2016-17 BIG EAST Institutional Female Scholar-Athlete Awards Presented by Sunkist
| School |
Name, Sport(s) |
| Butler |
Serina Kashimoto, Soccer |
| Creighton |
Lauren Smith, Volleyball |
| DePaul |
Yuliya Shupenia, Tennis |
| Georgetown |
Grace Damasaka, Soccer |
| Marquette |
Erin Holland, Soccer |
| Providence |
Kristyn Shea, Soccer |
| St. John’s |
Grace Kramer, Softball |
| Seton Hall |
Valierie Suto, Softball |
| Villanova |
Angel Piccirillo, Track & Field |
| Xavier |
Tori Doss, Soccer |
BIG EAST Female Scholar-Athletes Of The Year Presented by Sunkist
| Year |
Name, School, Sport |
| 1985 |
Leigh Curl, Connecticut, Basketball |
| 1986 |
Joanne Keehs, Villanova, Track & Field |
| 1987 |
Karen Ferreria, Providence, Volleyball |
| 1988 |
Noreen Coughlin, Pittsburgh, Volleyball |
| 1989 |
Vicki Huber, Villanova, Track & Field |
| 1990 |
Siobhan Gallagher, Providence, Track & Field |
| 1991 |
Cami White, Providence, Field Hockey |
| 1992 |
Kelly Larkin, Syracuse, Field Hockey |
| 1993 |
Nnenna Lynch, Villanova, Track & Field |
| 1994 |
Allison Williams, Pittsburgh, Track & Field |
| 1995 |
Becky Spies, Villanova, Cross Country/Track & Field |
| 1996 |
Najuma Fletcher, Pittsburgh, Track & Field |
| 1997 |
Jen Renola, Notre Dame, Soccer |
| 1998 |
Charity Wachera, West Virginia, Track & Field |
| 1999 |
Gladys Ganiel, Providence, Cross Country/Track & Field |
| 2000 |
Jenny Streiffer, Notre Dame, Soccer |
| 2001 |
Ruth Riley, Notre Dame, Basketball |
| 2002 |
Jarrah Myers, Notre Dame, Softball |
| 2003 |
Erin McIntyre, Rutgers, Swimming & Diving |
| 2004 |
Vanessa Pruzinsky, Notre Dame, Soccer |
| 2005 |
Nicole Lee, Georgetown, Cross Country/Track & Field |
| 2006 |
Kelly Harrigan, Rutgers, Swimming & Diving |
| 2007 |
Jessica Javelet, Louisville, Field Hockey |
| 2008 |
Jillian Drouin, Syracuse, Track & Field |
| 2009 |
Jennifer Kleinhans, Connecticut, Field Hockey |
| 2010 |
Meagan Dooley, Pittsburgh, Volleyball |
| 2011 |
Maya Moore, Connecticut, Basketball |
| 2012 |
Natalie Kulla, Marquette, Soccer |
| 2013 |
Sam Roecker, Providence, Cross Country/Track & Field |
| 2014 |
Emily Sisson, Providence, Cross Country/Track & Field |
| 2015 |
Shelbey Manthorpe, Seton Hall, Volleyball |
| 2016 |
Rachel Daly, St. John’s, Soccer |
| 2017 |
Lauren Smith, Creighton, Volleyball |