Holland Smits enters her first season as a volunteer assistant coach for the Rock Valley College volleyball team in 2025, building on past experiences of coaching club volleyball and youth leagues at her former club, Top Flight Volleyball Club in Elgin, IL.
A Rockford-area native, Smits returns to RVC after graduating from Lake Forest College in 2024. During her time at Lake Forest, she captained the women’s volleyball team to two consecutive MWC Conference Championship Tournament appearances after a 10-year program hiatus. During her two years there, Smits was a team leader in blocks, kills, and points, helping to secure the program’s highest victory total since 2005 and the highest winning percentage since 2000.
Before transferring to LFC, Smits served as a captain of the RVC volleyball team. She led the nation in service aces to help her team achieve a 34-8 record and finish as the 2021 NJCAA DIII National Championship Runner-Up— the program’s first championship appearance since 2012.
Throughout her volleyball career, Smits has earned the following accolades: Academic All-MWC (2022-23), CSC Academic All-District (2023), member of Chi Alpha Sigma- National College Athlete Honor Society (2022-23), Academic All-American (2021), member of Theta Chi Alpha- National Two-Year College Athlete Honor Society (2020-21), and TFVBC Athlete of the Year (2020).
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