The Coaches 13
HEAD COACH GREG SMITH Greg Smith brought with him a formula for success when he was handed the reins of the University of Toledo women s volleyball program on May 11, 2009. Now, Smith has seen his blueprint result in two of the top seasons in the Rocket volleyball program s 31-year history. UT followed up a 17-12 win-loss mark in Smith s debut season with an appearance in last year s Mid-American Conference Tournament semifinals. Highlighting the 2010 campaign was a 3-2 upset win over No. 12 Michigan in the season-opening Rocket Classic. UT also knocked off four more teams No. 32 Creighton, No. 49 Western Michigan, No. 50 Ball State and No. 57 Northern The Greg Smith File Name: Greg Smith. Family: Wife, Erica; Daughters, Peytan (8) and Reagan (5); Son, Logan (3). Hometown: Rochester, IN. Born: June 9, 1966 in Crawfordsville, IN. Collegiate Coaching Experience: 2009-pres. Head Coach, Univ. of Toledo 2006-08 Asst. Coach, Univ. of Notre Dame 2000-05 Head Coach, 1997-99 Asst. Coach, Ohio State Univ. 1995-96 Asst. Coach, Hofstra Univ. 1994 Asst. Coach, Univ. of Indianapolis College: Bachelor of Science in Business and Economics, Westmont (CA) College 1990. Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education, Univ. of Indianapolis, 1995. Organizations: American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA). Illinois that appeared in the Top 60 of the final NCAA RPI rankings giving it a school-record RPI ranking of 100 (out of 328 teams). The Rockets ended their season on a high note by sweeping regular-season champion Ball State in the MAC quarterfinals to advance to the semifinals for the fourth time in school history. Smith s inaugural campaign in 2009 saw Toledo post a.586 winning percentage, thirdbest in school annals. UT also tied for second place in the MAC s West Division which was its highest finish ever since the c o n f e r e n c e went to a divisional format in 1997. Our first two seasons have allowed us build a solid foundation, Smith said. We have established depth and a solid talent base at each position which has filled our program with tremendous optimism for the future. Prior to coming to Toledo, Smith served as the top assistant and recruiting coordinator at Notre Dame for three years (2006-09), helping the Fighting Irish post a 50-41 overall record and a 28-14 Big East mark. A Rochester, IN native, Smith coached 10 all-conference honorees in South Bend in addition to 2007 AVCA Northeast Region Freshman of the Year Kellie Sciacca. He also helped the Fighting Irish to an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2006, which is one of six trips he has made to post-season play in his coaching career. Smith received his first taste of being a head coach during a six-year tenure (2000-05) at. He registered an 81-94 (.463) win-loss ledger with a 37-38 (.493) conference mark, and he was honored as the 2002 Big East Conference Coach of the Year. The 2002 campaign saw the Hokies post an amazing turnaround with a second-place league finish. posted a 20-11 record after registering a 9-19 ledger the previous season to earn a berth in the four-team league tournament with a 10-3 conference mark. That team more than doubled its overall win total and won twice as many conference matches than it did during the 2001 season. During his time at, Smith helped five different players earn a total of nine all-conference honors. He also oversaw the Hokies transition from an independent to the Big East Conference in 2001 and then into the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2004. Smith headed to s Blacksburg campus following three years at Ohio State, where he helped coach the Buckeyes to a trio of NCAA Tournament bids. While with the Scarlet and Gray, he assisted in recruiting and training the team both on-court and in physical conditioning. Smith mentored a pair of Buckeye standouts in Jen Flynn and Katie Virtue. 14
HEAD COACH GREG SMITH Flynn was a first-team All-Big Ten choice and a member of the USPV Dream Team in 2000. She joined the U.S. National Team in 2002 as its starting setter, while leading the squad to a silver medal at the 2002 World Championships. Virtue, Ohio State s all-time assists leader and the 1999 Big Ten Freshman of the Year, was also a member of the U.S. National Team with Flynn. Prior to his stint in ColumGreg Smith was introduced bus, Smith spent two seasons as as UT s fifth volleyball head an assistant at Hofstra Univercoach on May 11, 2009. sity where he helped lead the team to back-to-back America East Conference Tournament championships and NCAA Tournament appearances. Before his time at Hofstra, he was an assistant at the University of Indianapolis in 1994 where he received a bachelor s degree in secondary education. Smith graduated from Westmont College (CA) in 1990 with a bachelor s degree in business and economics. A letterwinner in tennis for the Warriors, he also served as an assistant coach at his alma mater. Smith and his wife, Erica, have two daughters, Peytan (8) and Reagan (5), and one son, Logan (3). The Smith Family: Peytan, Logan, Greg, Erica and Reagan. Year 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2009 2010 Totals School Toledo Toledo SMITH vs. OPPONENTS Air Force... 1-0 Akron... 2-2 Alabama... 0-1 Alabama-Birmingham... 0-1 Appalachian State... 3-0 Auburn... 1-0 Ball State... 1-4 Binghamton... 1-0 Boston College... 3-2 Bowling Green... 2-1 Bradley... 0-1 Bryant... 1-0 Buffalo... 2-0 UC-Davis... 0-1 UC-Irvine... 1-0 Campbell... 1-0 Central Michigan... 1-3 Charlotte... 2-1 Clemson... 3-2 Cleveland State... 0-1 Coastal Carolina... 0-1 Colgate... 1-0 College of Charleston... 0-1 Colorado State... 0-1 Connecticut... 1-2 Creighton... 1-0 Duke... 1-4 East Carolina... 3-0 East Tennessee State... 2-0 Eastern Michigan... 1-3 Elon... 1-0 Evansville... 0-1 Florida... 0-1 Florida State... 1-3 Furman... 1-0 Gardner-Webb... 1-0 George Mason... 0-2 Georgetown... 2-2 Georgia... 0-2 Georgia Tech... 1-2 Harvard... 1-0 High Point... 1-0 Howard... 1-0 James Madison... 4-1 Kansas State... 0-1 Kennesaw State... 1-0 Kent State... 3-0 Lehigh... 1-0 Liberty... 4-4 LSU... 0-1 Louisiana-Monroe... 1-0 Louisville... 1-0 Loyola (MD)... 1-0 Marist... 1-0 Marquette... 0-1 Marshall... 1-0 Maryland... 0-4 UMBC... 1-1 Miami (FL)... 2-5 Miami (OH)... 3-1 Michigan... 1-1 Michigan State... 0-1 Mississippi State... 0-1 Morgan State... 1-0 North Carolina... 1-3 North Carolina State... 5-2 Northern Colorado... 1-0 Northern Illinois... 2-4 Notre Dame... 1-2 Oakland... 1-0 Ohio... 0-4 Oregon State... 0-1 Pittsburgh... 2-1 Providence... 2-0 Radford... 3-3 Robert Morris... 1-0 Rutgers... 2-2 St. John s... 1-2 Saint Louis... 0-1 St. Peter s... 0-1 Seton Hall... 2-2 SIU Edwardsville... 0-1 Southwest Texas... 0-1 Stony Brook... 1-0 Syracuse... 2-1 Tennessee... 0-4 Tennessee Tech... 1-0 TCU... 1-1 Towson... 0-1 Villanova... 2-1 Virginia... 1-6 VCU... 1-0 Wake Forest... 2-3 West Virginia... 3-0 Western Carolina... 0-1 Western Michigan... 1-4 William & Mary... 0-1 Wisconsin... 0-1 UW-Milwaukee... 0-2 Wright State... 1-0 - SMITH S HEAD COACHING LEDGER Overall W-L 13-16 (.448) 9-19 (.321) 20-11 (.645) 13-14 (.481) 13-16 (.448) 13-18 (.419) 17-12 (.586) 13-17 (.433) 111-123 (.474) Conference W-L N/A-Independent 5-7 (.417) 10-3 (.769) 7-5 (.583) 7-9 (.438) 8-14 (.364) 8-8 (.500) 6-10 (.375) 51-56 (.477) Conference Finish N/A Big East - T-8th Big East - 2nd Big East - T-4th Atlantic Coast - T-7th Atlantic Coast - 9th Mid-American - T-2nd/West Mid-American - 6th/West 15
ASSISTANT COACH RACHEL WAGENER Rachel Wagener begins her third season as an assistant coach with the Toledo volleyball program after being part of two of the Rockets best seasons in school history. Wagener helped UT to a 17-12 win-loss mark in the 2009 campaign and its.586 winning percentage was the third-best in the program s 31-year existence. In addition, the Rockets tied for second place in the MAC s West Division which was their highest finish ever since the conference went to a divisional format in 1997. The Rockets followed that up by advancing to the 2010 Mid-American Conference Tournament semifinals for just the fourth time in school history. Wagener s responsibilities at UT include working directly with the middle blockers during practice, in addition to assisting with other day-to-day operations that includes technical training, scouting, video analysis, in-match strategy and recruiting. Prior to coming to Toledo, Wagener served two years as an assistant at William & Mary where she was part of a program that reached the CAA Tournament each year. She also helped middle blocker Ginny Bray earn third-team all-conference accolades as a sophomore and all-rookie honors as a freshman. Wagener enjoyed a tremendous collegiate career at Maryland, where she was one of the most prolific blockers in school history. She helped lead the Terrapins to three ACC championships and was selected as an AVCA honorable mention All- American following her junior and senior seasons. Wagener finished her career as the school record holder for total blocks (649), block assists (565) and career hitting percentage (.341). In addition, she established the program s single-season block assists record (177) as a sophomore. Following her collegiate career, she was one of 16 athletes selected to participate in the first-ever AVP Beach Tryout where she was one of eight players chosen for the first-time beach volleyball Collegiate Nationals. An All-America selection at Maryland, Wagener was also named to the 2005 Collegiate Volleyball Update Stellar Spikers Second Team. One of the ACC s top players throughout her career, she was chosen All-ACC First Team as a senior after being tabbed with second-team laurels the previous two seasons. During her rookie season with the Terrapins, she was selected to the ACC All-Freshman Team. She also garnered AVCA All-East Region accolades in 2004 and 2005. As a senior, Wagener ranked 11th nationally with 1.61 blocks per game, while her.380 hitting percentage ranked 20th in the country. She led the ACC in blocks per game (1.50) as a sophomore and also became the first Maryland player to register 200 total blocks in a season. A native of Chesapeake, VA, Wagener resides in Toledo and earned her bachelor s degree in kinesiology from the University of Maryland in 2006. The Rachel Wagener File Full Name Rachel Marie Wagener. Born 10/27/84 in Philadelphia, PA. Hometown Chesapeake, VA. Education B.S. in kinesiology, Univ. of Maryland 06. Coaching Experience 2009-pr. Assistant Coach, Univ. of Toledo 2007-08 Assistant Coach, William & Mary Univ. 2007 Assistant Coach, Tidewater Juniors Playing Experience & Honors 2002-05 Univ. of Maryland Four-Year Letterwinner 2005 AVCA All-American (HM), AVCA All-Region, First-Team All-ACC 2004 AVCA All-American (HM), AVCA All-Region, Second-Team All-ACC 2003 Second-Team All-ACC 2002 ACC All-Freshman Team 16 Getting to Know Rachel Wagener First organized sport I played: Volleyball. Best volleyball memory: Beating Georgia Tech at home when they were ranked No. 4 in nation. My sports hero growing up was: Gabrielle Reece. Most famous person I ve met is: Kerri Walsh. If I didn t coach volleyball I would: Be involved in the medical field. Person who influenced my coaching career the most was: Ruth Melcher. The best thing about Savage Arena is: All the possibilities. Last movie I saw in the theatre was: Bridesmaids. Favorite TV show: Big Bang Theory. Favorite all-time movie: Dirty Dancing. First car I had: 1990 Ford Bronco. First job: Coach for Tidewater Volleyball Association. Favorite place to spend time: Anywhere with friends. The thing I do to relax is: Sleep. Favorite vacation spot: Anywhere warm! (with a beach). Last book I read was: Mind Gym by Gary Mack. Favorite food: Chocolate. Best dish I can whip up: Meatloaf and any Paula Deen dessert.
ASSISTANT COACH JEANNETTE ABBOTT Jeannette Abbott enters her first season as an assistant coach for the Rocket coaching staff. Abbott, a Downers Grove, IL, native, has spent the past two years as a volunteer assistant at Saint Louis (2009) and Virginia Tech (2010). In her time with the Hokies and Billikens, she helped coordinate team travel, meals and summer camps in addition to training and mentoring the team s outside hitters and defensive specialists. Abbott also promoted the Hokie program through the use of Twitter and Facebook in addition to designing marketing and other promotional materials. We re very excited to have Jeannette join our program and her background will be very beneficial for us, Smith said. Jeannette has learned what it takes to be a collegiate coach under a pair of quality individuals - Chris Riley () and Anne Kordes (now at Louisville) - at top-flight programs after enjoying a very successful playing career. She is full of energy and possesses an enthusiastic personality that will help our program take the next step. A four-year starter at Clemson, Abbott garnered Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Rookie of the Year honors in 2005 and was named American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) East Region Rookie of the Year. She went on to achieve AVCA All-America honorable mention status as a sophomore. In 2007, Abbott led the Tigers to the ACC title, an NCAA Tournament appearance and a No. 22 ranking in the final AVCA poll. She helped Clemson return to the NCAA Tournament in 2008. The three-time all-conference and AVCA All-Region pick graduated as the Tigers career leader in total attempts (5,425) and ranks among the top 10 in career kills (1,793). Abbott, who set Clemson s freshman standards for kills (515) and attempts (1,502), is one of only five players in program history to compile 500 kills, 1,000 digs and 200 blocks. Prior to her collegiate career, Abbott helped her Sports Performance club team in Chicago seize the 2005 Junior Olympic 18 Open National Championship and the 2002, 2003 and 2005 AAU Getting to Know Jeannette Abbott National Championships. First organized sport I played: Softball. Abbott graduated from Clemson in May 2009 with a bachelor s degree Best volleyball memory: Winning 2005 Junior Olympic in marketing. The Jeannette Abbott File Full Name Jeannette Corrine Abbott. Born 11/2/86 in Arlington Heights, IL. Hometown Downers Grove, IL. Education B.S. in marketing, Clemson 09. Coaching Experience 2011-pr. Assistant coach, Univ. of Toledo. 2010-11 Volunteer Coach, Saint Louis Univ. 2009-10 Volunteer Coach, Playing Experience & HoNORS 2005-08 Clemson Univ. Four-Year Starter 2008 Team MVP, Captain 2007 AVCA All-East Region (HM), Second-Team All-ACC, Team Captain 2006 AVCA All-American (HM) & First-Team All-ACC 2005 AVCA East Region & ACC Freshman of the Year 18-OPEN National Title with Sports Performance. My sports hero growing up was: Michael Jordan. Most famous person I ve met: Barack Obama. Favorite career moment thus far: The first time I coached vs. my alma mater (Clemson) and the crowd gave me a standing ovation during introductions. If I didn t coach volleyball I would: Be miserable! People who influenced my coaching career the most was: My coaches at Sports Performance: Rick Butter, Tom Paszko and Joe Jablonski. The best thing about Savage Arena is: Our unbelievable locker room. Favorite actor: Chris Farley. Favorite actress: Angelina Jolie. Favorite TV show: Any of the Real Housewives. Favorite all-time movie: Caddyshack. First car I had: Nissan 350Z. First job: Working the deli at SPRI. Favorite place to spend time: At my family s house around the pool. The thing I do to relax is: Lay in bed watching TV with my dogs BigFoot and LittleFoot. Favorite vacation spot: Orlando, FL. Favorite food: Nachos. Favorite meal: Filet mignon, baked potato & asparagus. Best dish I can whip up: Cheesecake. (I m famous for it) 17
SUPPORT STAFF VOLUNTEER COACH VICKI BROWN Vicki Brown begins her first season as a volunteer coach with the Toledo volleyball program. A Toledo native, Brown brings the Rockets experience as both a high-level collegiate and professional volleyball player. A three-year starter at the University of Illinois, Brown earned All-Big Ten Honorable Mention honors as a junior and senior with the Fighting Illini and was named to an all-tournament squad in her last eight collegiate tournaments. In 2007, she ranked seventh in the Big Ten with a.321 hitting percentage in all matches and posted a season-high 21 kills while hitting.412 at Ohio State. She finished her career with a.297 attack percentage and tallied 1,082 terminations as a collegian. Since graduating from Illinois in 2008 with a bachelor s degree in communication, Brown has played with professional teams in Austria, Puerto Rico and Spain. Brown attended Start High School in Toledo and is the daughter of of Kelvin and Francine Brown. WOMEN S VOLLEYBALL SUPPORT STAFF Sara Doebel Graduate Asst. Athletic Trainer 18 Steve Easton Assoc. Athletic Media Relations Director Steve Murray Strength & Conditioning Mike Renard Equipment Manager Sue Irmen Academic Coordinator