Early in VSU's three set win over Saint Michaels in the Saint Leo Lions volleyball Fall Tournament on Sept. 14, senior JoJo Smith rose off the floor from her outside hitter position and used her strong right-handed swing to pound home a winner. The "kill" was the Jefferson, Georgia native's 1,000 career "kill" making her just the eighth player in Blazer history to reach the 1,000-kill milestone.
Smith, a four-year starter for the Blazers, moved to Jefferson from volleyball -crazy Nebraska where volleyball trails only Cornhusker football in popularity. JoJo played youth league volleyball and dreamed of following in the footsteps of an older sister who went on to play volleyball at the collegiate level. In Jefferson, Smith was a two-sport athlete playing volleyball and participating in track and field where she ran the demanding 300-meter hurdles and the four by four-hundred-meter relay. She also high jumped, clearing 5'2" and showed enough track and field potential that the Naval Academy recruited her. While the Naval experience was intriguing, the beautiful VSU campus plus the opportunity to be part of building a program turned JoJo into a Blazer. Four years later Smith says that "being a Blazer has brought me many opportunities to grow into the woman I am today, and I've built lifetime connections." JoJo also speaks of the investment that the Valdosta community has in Blazer athletics, "Everyone in this community is so supportive. I will have people that I don't know often come up to me when I'm out in public and talk about our games and tell me that they appreciate what I do".
A communications major who will graduate in the Spring of 2025, JoJo is looking forward to a career in social media, hopefully in athletics, and perhaps in Major League Baseball. A huge baseball fan and supporter of the Los Angeles Dodgers, JoJo remembers fondly playing youth league baseball and playing catch with her dad. Her hobbies include decorating, (she admits she and her roommate have gone way overboard with Fall season decorations in their apartment) as well as amusement parks and roller coasters. Name a roller coaster and there is a good chance that JoJo has been strapped into that seat. Her favorite roller coasters include the Velocicoaster in Universal's Islands of Adventure and the Iron Gwazi at Tampa's Busch Gardens.
JoJo was named the Gulf South Conference Freshman of the Year in 2021 and earned all-conference honors in 2021 and 2022. She is quickly climbing up the career record chart in several statistical categories and should finish her career ranked in the top five in kills and total sets played and in the top 10 in blocks. The opportunity to compete and work to get better everyday are main reasons why she loves athletics. At the conclusion of this season when she finishes her VSU career, JoJo hopes that Blazer fans remember her for her character and passion for the game.
The Blazer captain feels like the team's preseason trip to Costa Rica was a truly fantastic experience. The week-long trip had the Blazers participating in numerous community service activities and youth clinics plus playing in three matches against Costa Rican club teams. The team also zip-lined through the rain forest and surfed in the Pacific. "The opportunity to experience a new culture, interact with the Costa Rican people and spend considerable time with kids at the clinics was incredible," Smith says. "It also offered us a tremendous opportunity to quickly integrate our new players into our team and bond as a family. That has already made a difference in our success, and I think it will continue to pay big dividends for us over the course of the season," she adds.
With every Blazer opponent spending time game planning as to how they can slow Smith down, her goal is to continue to pound home winners and lead the Blazers to a record season.
