Temple University Athletics
Volleyball Adds Malia Smith to the 2014 Signing Class
12.2.13 | Women's Volleyball
PHILADELPHIA - Temple volleyball has added a third recruit to the signing class for the fall of 2014, as Malia Smith (Gardena, Calif./Notre Dame Academy) will join third-year head coach Bakeer Ganes' squad. Smith is a true freshman, as are the two other signees Izabella Rapacz (Glenview, Ill./Glenbrook South) and Janine Simmons (Centreville, Va./Centreville).
Smith, a 5-7 defensive specialist/libero, averaged 11.7 digs per match as a senior at Notre Dame Academy for Girls in Los Angeles. She also averaged 8.2 kills per match, and helped lead her team to a third place finish in the league. As a member of the junior varsity in her sophomore year, Smith was named the Offensive Player of the Year. Her family has an athletic background, and her uncle, Dominic Ellison, played college basketball at both Washington State and New Mexico State before going on to play professionally overseas.
She is a California Scholarship Federation Member, and earned a First Honors Award five times already in her high school career for having a GPA above 3.8. Smith plans to study international business at Temple.
"We're excited to add Malia to our recruiting class for 2014," said Ganes. "She is a very versatile player on defense and we are looking forward to having her on our roster because she will add depth in the defensive specialist position for us. We would like to welcome her to our Temple volleyball family."
