Shadow Ridge 3 Palo Verde 0 NIAA PLAYOFFS

About the Author: Jason Smith was the assistant coach at UNLV from 2008-2010. Smith came to UNLV after a two-year stint as the head coach at Arizona Western College in Yuma, Ariz. In his two years at the helm of the AWC Matador volleyball program he amassed a record of 47-26, which included back-to-back 20-win seasons and a 27-8 record in 2007. Smith helped AWC to its seventh and eighth straight Region I titles. The Matadors were crowned ACCAC (Arizona Community College Athletic Conference) champions in 2007. The 2007 squad came one win shy of reaching the program's first-ever berth into the NJCAA Tournament, as it lost in the District A Championship match. In all, Smith coached one NJCAA All-America, one ACCAC Player of the Year and six all-region performers. Prior to AWC, Smith spent three years in the Mountain West Conference at Utah. As a Ute assistant, he saw the team reach the NCAA Tournament on three occasions and rack up a winning percentage of 73% (69-25). He was a part of one MWC Championship squad in 2005, as Utah defeated BYU for the title in Las Vegas. In his three years in Salt Lake City, he saw 23 Utes named to Academic All-MWC teams. Before joining Utah, Smith spent two years at Ferris State (NCAA Div. II) and Iowa Western Community College after beginning his coaching career at Avila College (NAIA). Smith played collegiately at Graceland University in 1992. At Graceland, he was a member of several regional championship teams while earning his bachelor's degree in business and economics.