David Smith (volleyball)

American volleyball player (born 1985)

David Smith

Personal information
Born|  (1985-05-15) May 15, 1985 (age 39)
Panorama City, Los Angeles, U.S.
Height| 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Weight| 190 lb (86 kg)
Spike| 140 in (360 cm)
Block| 136 in (345 cm)
College / University| UC Irvine
Volleyball information
Position| Middle blocker
Current club| ZAKSA Kędzierzyn-Koźle
Number| 15
Career
| Years| Teams

|

2004–2007
2007
2008–2009
2009–2010
2010–2011
2011–2016
2016–2017
2017–2018
2018–2019
2019–| UC Irvine Anteaters
Ulster University
TV Rottenburg
Caribes de San Sebastián
CV Almería
Tours VB
Czarni Radom
Warta Zawiercie
Asseco Resovia
ZAKSA Kędzierzyn-Koźle
National team
| 2009–|  United States

|

Honours

Men's volleyball
Representing  United States
Olympic Games
| 2016 Rio de Janeiro | Team
| 2024 Paris | Team
FIVB World Championship
| 2018 Bulgaria/Italy |
FIVB World Cup
| 2015 Japan |
| 2023 Japan |
| 2019 Japan |
FIVB World League
| 2012 Sofia |
| 2015 Rio de Janeiro |
FIVB Nations League
| 2019 Chicago |
| 2022 Bologna |
| 2023 Gdańsk |
| 2018 Lille |
NORCECA Championship
| 2017 Colorado Springs |
| 2023 Charleston |

David Smith (born May 15, 1985) is an American professional volleyball player who plays as a middle blocker for ZAKSA Kędzierzyn-Koźle and the U.S. national team. Smith was a bronze medalist at the Olympic Games Rio 2016, Paris 2024 and the 2018 World Championship; the 2015 World Cup winner and a three–time Champions League winner (2021, 2022, 2023) with ZAKSA.

## Personal life

[edit]

Smith was born in the Los Angeles district of Panorama City on May 15, 1985. Born nearly deaf, he wears hearing aids and reads lips to understand his teammates. He grew up in Santa Clarita, where he attended Saugus High School.

Smith is 6 feet, 7 inches (200 cm) tall. He married his wife Kelli in 2008. They have two children, a son Cohen and a daughter Amelie.[1]

## Career

[edit]

### College

[edit]

Smith played for the UC Irvine volleyball team from 2004 to 2007. In 2004, his .369 hitting percentage was the highest on the team. He also had a 1.03 blocking average and 102 block assists. The following season, he had a .401 hitting percentage and a 0.86 blocking average. Smith then had a .412 hitting percentage, 1.27 blocking average, 129 block assists, and 143 total blocks in 2006.

In 2007, Smith helped University of California Irvine win the NCAA National Champions title. His .559 hitting percentage led the nation and was a new school record. He also broke the UCI single-season block assists record, with 160. Smith was named to the All-American first team and the NCAA All-Tournament team. He finished his UCI career as the school's all-time leader in block assists (471) and total blocks (520).

### National team

[edit]

Smith joined the U.S. national team in 2009. That year, he was named the Best Blocker at the World Championship Qualifier and played in the FIVB World League. In 2010, he helped the U.S. win the Pan American Cup.

Smith tied as the team's second-leading scorer at the 2011 Pan American Cup, as the U.S. finished second. He then played in the 2012 FIVB World League, where the U.S. finished second.[2] At the 2012 Summer Olympics, he was a substitute and had eight points.

## Honors

[edit]

### Club

[edit]

* CEV Champions League
* 2020–21 – with ZAKSA Kędzierzyn-Koźle
* 2021–22 – with ZAKSA Kędzierzyn-Koźle[3]
* 2022–23 – with ZAKSA Kędzierzyn-Koźle
* Domestic
* 2010–11 Spanish SuperCup, with CV Almería
* 2010–11 Spanish Championship, with CV Almería
* 2011–12 French SuperCup, with Tours VB
* 2011–12 French Championship, with Tours VB
* 2012–13 French Cup, with Tours VB
* 2012–13 French Championship, with Tours VB
* 2013–14 French SuperCup, with Tours VB
* 2013–14 French Cup, with Tours VB
* 2013–14 French Championship, with Tours VB
* 2014–15 French SuperCup, with Tours VB
* 2014–15 French Cup, with Tours VB
* 2014–15 French Championship, with Tours VB
* 2019–20 Polish SuperCup, with ZAKSA Kędzierzyn-Koźle
* 2020–21 Polish SuperCup, with ZAKSA Kędzierzyn-Koźle
* 2020–21 Polish Cup, with ZAKSA Kędzierzyn-Koźle
* 2021–22 Polish Cup, with ZAKSA Kędzierzyn-Koźle
* 2021–22 Polish Championship, with ZAKSA Kędzierzyn-Koźle[4]
* 2022–23 Polish Cup, with ZAKSA Kędzierzyn-Koźle
* 2023–24 Polish SuperCup, with ZAKSA Kędzierzyn-Koźle

### Youth national team

[edit]

* 2004 NORCECA U21 Championship

### Individual awards

[edit]

* 2012: French Championship – Best middle blocker
* 2015: French Championship – Best middle blocker
* 2016: French Championship – Best middle blocker
* 2022: FIVB Nations League – Best middle blocker
* 2023: CEV Champions League – Most valuable player
* 2023: FIVB Nations League – Best middle blocker

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Athlete Bio". Team USA. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
2. ^ "WL M: Poland beat USA to claim first World League title". WorldofVolley. July 9, 2012. Retrieved June 7, 2021.
3. ^ "They did it again. Zaksa is a Double CEV Champions League Volley Winner". CEV. May 22, 2022. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
4. ^ "ZAKSA mistrzem Polski! Dziewiąte złoto siatkarzy z Kędzierzyna-Koźla". Polsat Sport (in Polish). May 14, 2022. Retrieved May 26, 2022.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to David Smith (volley-ball).

* David Smith at the European Volleyball Confederation
* David Smith at PlusLiga.pl (in Polish)
* David Smith at Volleybox.net
* David Smith at Team USA (archive May 30, 2023)
* David Smith at Olympedia
* David Smith at Olympics.com
* David Smith at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics

Awards

Preceded by

Maurício Souza
Mateusz Bieniek

|  Best Middle Blocker of
FIVB Nations League
2022
ex aequo  Mateusz Bieniek
2023
ex aequo  Jakub Kochanowski | Succeeded by

Nicolas Le Goff
Jakub Kochanowski

* v
* t
* e

United States men's volleyball squad – 2012 Summer Olympics – 5th place

* 1 Anderson
* 2 Rooney
* 4 Lee
* 5 Lambourne
* 6 Lotman
* 7 Suxho
* 8 Priddy
* 11 Thornton
* 12 Holmes
* 13 Stanley
* 16 McKienzie
* 20 Smith
* Coach: Knipe

* v
* t
* e

United States squad – 2015 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Cup – Gold medal

* 1 Anderson
* 2 Russell
* 3 Sander
* 4 Lee
* 6 Lotman
* 7 K. Shoji
* 9 Troy
* 11 Christenson
* 15 Holmes
* 16 Jablonsky
* 17 Holt
* 18 Smith
* 19 Watten
* 21 E. Shoji
* Coach: Speraw

* v
* t
* e

United States men's volleyball squad – 2016 Summer Olympics – Bronze medal

* 1 Anderson
* 2 Russell
* 3 Sander
* 4 Lee
* 7 Shoji K.
* 8 Priddy
* 9 Troy
* 10 Jaeschke
* 11 Christenson
* 17 Holt
* 20 Smith
* 21 Shoji E.
* Coach: Speraw

* v
* t
* e

United States squad – 2018 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship – Bronze medal

* 1 Anderson
* 2 Russell
* 3 Sander
* 4 Jendryk
* 7 Shoji K.
* 10 McDonnell
* 11 Christenson
* 12 Holt
* 13 Patch
* 18 Langlois
* 19 Averill
* 20 Smith
* 21 Watten
* 22 Shoji E.
* Coach: Speraw

* v
* t
* e

2012 USA Olympic Volleyball Team (women's indoor – silver medal, women's beach – gold & silver)

Qualification|

* Men's indoor
* Women's indoor

Men's indoor|

* Matt Anderson
* Sean Rooney
* David Lee
* Richard Lambourne
* Paul Lotman
* Donald Suxho
* Reid Priddy
* Brian Thornton
* Russell Holmes
* Clayton Stanley
* David McKienzie
* David Smith

Women's indoor|

* Danielle Scott-Arruda
* Tayyiba Haneef-Park
* Lindsey Berg
* Tamari Miyashiro
* Nicole Davis
* Jordan Larson
* Megan Hodge
* Christa Harmotto
* Logan Tom
* Foluke Akinradewo
* Courtney Thompson
* Destinee Hooker

Men's beach|

* Phil Dalhausser
* Todd Rogers
* Jake Gibb
* Sean Rosenthal

Women's beach|

* Jennifer Kessy
* April Ross
* Misty May-Treanor
* Kerri Walsh Jennings

Coaches|

* Alan Knipe
* Hugh McCutcheon

* v
* t
* e

2016 USA Olympic Volleyball Team (men's indoor – bronze medal, women's indoor – bronze, women's beach – bronze)

Qualification|

* Men's indoor
* Women's indoor

Men's indoor|

* Matt Anderson
* Aaron Russell
* Taylor Sander
* David Lee
* Kawika Shoji
* William Priddy
* Murphy Troy
* Thomas Jaeschke
* Micah Christenson
* Maxwell Holt
* David Smith
* Erik Shoji

Women's indoor|

* Alisha Glass
* Kayla Banwarth
* Courtney Thompson
* Rachael Adams
* Carli Lloyd
* Jordan Larson
* Kelly Murphy
* Christa Harmotto
* Kimberly Hill
* Foluke Akinradewo
* Kelsey Robinson
* Karsta Lowe

Men's beach|

* Phil Dalhausser
* Nick Lucena
* Jake Gibb
* Casey Patterson

Women's beach|

* April Ross
* Kerri Walsh Jennings
* Brooke Sweat
* Lauren Fendrick

Coaches|

* John Speraw
* Karch Kiraly

* v
* t
* e

2020 USA Olympic Volleyball Team (women's indoor – gold, women's beach – gold)

Qualification|

* Men's indoor
* Women's indoor

Men's indoor|

* Matt Anderson
* Taylor Sander
* Kyle Ensing
* Mitch Stahl
* Kawika Shoji
* TJ DeFalco
* Micah Christenson
* Maxwell Holt
* Thomas Jaeschke
* Garrett Muagututia
* David Smith
* Erik Shoji

Women's indoor|

* Micha Hancock
* Jordyn Poulter
* Justine Wong-Orantes
* Jordan Larson
* Andrea Drews
* Jordan Thompson
* Michelle Bartsch-Hackley
* Kimberly Hill
* Foluke Akinradewo
* Haleigh Washington
* Kelsey Robinson
* Chiaka Ogbogu

Men's beach|

* Jake Gibb
* Tri Bourne
* Nick Lucena
* Phil Dalhausser

Women's beach|

* Alix Klineman
* April Ross
* Kelly Claes
* Sarah Sponcil

Coaches|

* John Speraw
* Karch Kiraly

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