Wheaton College Alumni Magazine Spring 2014 | Page 12
WHEATON sports
Primed
Wheaton College women’s volleyball scores
a veteran head coach.
by Brett Marhanka, Athletics Communication Director
Head coach Brittany Smith
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SPRING
2014
of the Thunder
volleyball program, Brittany Smith, arrived
at Wheaton in April 2013, following
eight successful years at Taylor University,
where she guided the Trojans’ volleyball
program to victory in 72 percent of their
matches. She earned 240 wins and only
94 losses in her time at Taylor, leading the
program to five league championships and
three consecutive National Association
of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA)
Tournament appearances (2009-11).
Family life, however, necessitated a
change.
“My husband had been commuting
from Naperville to Upland for about
a year for his job, and just when we
realized the situation was no longer
working for our family, we got an email
from Wheaton. It felt like the Lord was
opening a door,” Brittany says.
Moving from Taylor to Wheaton did
not change her primary focus. “I have
always known that sports can empower
young women. My calling is to empower
these women—to help them see their
The head coach
God-given gifts and to use those gifts for
His glory.”
Brittany grew up in Grand Rapids,
Mich., with her three sisters. The third
of four girls, she became interested in
volleyball when her older sister was cut
from the team.
“My dad took her to our church gym,
and they worked on her serve with the
rest of us tagging along. We all started
playing at that time,” she says.
From that early experience, Brittany
went on to earn All-State honors as a
middle hitter in high school. When it
came time to select a college, she chose
Taylor because she knew she’d have the
opportunity to remain a middle hitter.
Making the most of that opportunity,
Brittany was a four-year starter. She
earned NAIA First Team All-American
recognition in 1998, and was a Second
Team NAIA All-American in 1999.
She graduated from Taylor in 2000 with
a degree in history, and won the
1999-2000 Lady Trojan Award, given
to the university’s most outstanding
female athlete.
“I am thankful for the opportunity
I had to play at a Christian college,”
she says.
After her first season at Wheaton, she
appreciates “the quality of Wheaton’s
student athletes” as well as the College’s
willingness to enable students “to do their
best to the glory of God.”
Brittany guided the Thunder to a
24-12 record in her first season, and
W H EATON .EDU / A L U M N I
3/19/14 7:46 PM