Natalie Smith Season 2021

2019 SEASON (At Michigan): Was the Wolverines starting libero during her junior campaign when she led the team with 3.42 digs per set, which ranked 13th in the Big Ten … Set career highs in digs (390), assists (102) and service aces (18) in all 32 matches, helping Michigan secure its third straight NCAA Tournament appearance … Totaled double-digit digs in 21 matches, including six straight to end the year … Also led the Wolverines with 20 digs or more digs in three matches … Collected a career-high 29 digs in a narrow 3-2 setback at Notre Dame (9-18-19) … Surpassed her collegiate best with eight assists in a four-set triumph vs. No. 21 Illinois (11-9-19) … Matched her career high with three aces against Northern Arizona (Aug. 30) and Iowa (11-13-19) … Landed on the Big Ten all-academic team for the second year in a row.  
   
2018 SEASON (At Michigan): Appeared in all 34 matches as a sophomore, meriting 16 starts, as the Wolverines finished with a No. 12 AVCA ranking … Averaged 1.98 digs (208 overall) and 0.30 assists (32 overall) in 105 sets played … Knocked down her first collegiate kill in a victory over Oakland (9-7-18) … Helped Michigan complete a weekend sweep of Notre Dame after recording 13 digs in the four-set finale (9-16-18) … Scooped a season-high 16 digs to go with a personal-best six assists in a tight five-set defeat at No. 7 Illinois (10-19-18) … Was one of three Wolverines with double-digit digs in its 3-1 triumph over Michigan State, totaling 13 scoops in the regular-season finale (11-24-18) … Tied her career-high with three service aces in Michigan’s 3-2 victory at No. 11 Pittsburgh in the second round of the NCAA Tournament (12-1-18) … Earned Big Ten all-academic honors following the season.

2017 SEASON (At Michigan): Played in 29 matches with four starts during her freshman campaign with the Wolverines, who secured a berth in the NCAA Tournament … Totaled 128 digs (1.45/set) and 12 service aces in 88 sets … Made her collegiate debut in a 3-0 blanking of Loyola Marymount at the USC/LMU Invite (8-26-17) … Received her first career start in a 3-1 triumph over Green Bay at the Michigan Invitational, posting two digs and a pair of aces (9-2-17) … Also registered a career-high three services aces in the Wolverines four-set conquest of Ohio State (9-28-17) … Scooped up a season-high 11 digs in a 3-1 home victory over Maryland (9-30-17) … Cracked the starting lineup and finished with seven digs in a three-set whitewash of No. 8 Michigan State (11-15-17).  

HIGH SCHOOL: Starred for Boswell High School in Fort Worth, Texas, winning four varsity letters for head coach Kevin Anderson … Garnered first-team all-District 6-5A accolades all four years and led her led her squad to district, area and regional championships in 2015 and 2016 … Earned District 6-5A Defensive Player of the Year honors as a senior and was named to the all-region team by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

CLUB: Was a six-year competitor for the Tejas Volleyball Club … Helped her squad capture a national title in 2013 to go with a fifth-place finish at the 2016 USA Volleyball National Championships.

PERSONAL: Parents are Warren and Janine Smith  … Hails from a competitive athletic family … Her father was a member of the Texas track and field team (1987-91); her mother played volleyball for the Longhorns (1988-92), while her sister Brooke competed in volleyball as well for Nebraska and Kansas State (2015-17).