Aaron Smith Position: Assistant Coach Experience: Third Season Alma Mater: Penn State, 2007

Aaron Smith is in his third season as a Wildcat assistant coach. Smith serves as the Northwestern video coordinator, with camps and clinics and recruiting also serving as his major responsibilities.

In Smith's third season on the bench, Northwestern broke out to its best start in 14 years. The Wildcats rattled off five wins to begin the season, one shy of the previous best start which came in 1997. In addition, the 'Cats did not drop a set in their first 15 played, a feat that had not been duplicated since 1984. Northwestern posted wins over three top-25 opponents in 2011, including a monumental victory against No. 2 Nebraska at Welsh-Ryan Arena in the regular season finale.

During his second year with the Wildcats in 2010, Smith helped Northwestern to its second 20-win season in the Keylor Chan era and a berth in the NCAA Tournament Round of 32 -- something that NU had achieved just once before in program history.

In addition to his Northwestern duties, Smith serves as Director of Coaches and as a coach with the Wildcat Juniors Volleyball Club. He coached the 15 Elite team to a 13th-place finish at the AAU National Championships.

Smith came to Northwestern from Wake Forest where he served as a volunteer assistant for the Demon Deacons this past season. Wake finished 19-13 in 2008, the program's best record since 2003, and posted a program-best 14-3 record at home.

He also served as the head coach of the Set Point Volleyball Club in Winston-Salem, comprised of the top 16-year-olds, and Smith led the team to a fourth-place finish at the Big South Qualifier. He has also spent the past two years as camp counselor at Wake Forest's Black and Gold Volleyball Camp.

Smith spent one year as a professional volleyball player in Tarragona, Spain, competing for Club Tarragona St. Pere y St. Pau in Spain's 1st Division. He started at the outside hitter position, helping lead team maintain its 1st Division status after posting a winning season in 2007-08.

A native of Forest, Va., Smith played collegiately at Penn State, serving as a team captain in 2007. He currently ranks 14th all-time in Nittany Lion history in both digs (499) and aces (58) while also registering 166 kills as a senior.

Smith, a former Virginia High School Player of the Year, graduated with a degree in Landscape Contracting Management from Penn State in 2007. He married Natalie Mullikin Smith in May of 2011.

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