Girls volleyball: Smith takes over at Jacobs

Colleen Smith, who played on Cary-Grove's 2009 state championship team, is the new girls volleyball coach at Jacobs.

Smith replaces Lisa Dwyer, who spent more than a decade as Golden Eagles coach.

"I'm super excited for the opportunity that Jacobs High School is giving me," Smith said. "I've always had a strong passion for the game and I'm excited to build a program and create a culture."

After graduating from Cary-Grove, Smith went to Indiana and then transferred to at DePaul, finishing third in school history in assists.

"We're grateful to have Coach Smith lead our volleyball program," Jacobs athletic director Joe Benoit said. "Her energy, passion for the sport of volleyball and commitment to teaching the game will help our program be successful going forward. She's eager to get started this fall."

Smith played varsity for four years at Cary-Grove under Patty Langanis. After winning state as a junior, the Trojans finished 41-1 her senior year losing the state championship game to Lyons.

Now Smith will get to coach against her mentor two times each year in FVC play. She also has spent two years coaching with Langanis as an assistant at Cary-Grove.

"I've learned so much from her and she's a phenomenal coach and did such a good job with the program over at Cary-Grove," Smith said. "She's really shaped me into the player and person I am today. It will be super fun playing against her but also hard."

Smith, who is one year from getting her master's degree in special education, also coaches a couple teams at Sky High volleyball club in Crystal Lake and Lake Barrington. She is hoping to do her student teaching at a school in the area.

At Jacobs, Smith is hoping to pass along what she's learned from all her high school and college success.

"I think we have the resources and athletes to do so," Smith said. "I am excited to give knowledge to the girls. It's important to start working on small goals leading up to the big goals of winning a state title. It's definitely a tough conference but with the staff we hired I know what it takes to get Jacobs back on the board and winning a conference title."