NORTHAMPTON — Greg Walker sat on the bleachers at MIT, took out a piece of paper and started writing. His Smith College women’s volleyball team had just bowed out to the top-seeded Engineers in the 2022 NEWMAC semifinal in four sets. Walker, whose first season as Bears head coach came in 2021, promised his first incoming recruiting class that he would bring them a NEWMAC championship, and he felt he had let them down.
As he wrote his letter, which was to his future team, his words flowed effortlessly — coming straight from his heart.
We will win the NEWMAC championship and move on to the NCAA Tournament.
Fast forward two years, with his initial first-year class now seniors in 2024, and Walker delivered his promise. Smith College knocked off Wellesley and Springfield in the first two rounds of the conference tournament, setting up a rematch with undefeated MIT — this time in the NEWMAC finals.
Smith won sets one and three while the Engineers claimed sets two and four to send it to a fifth and final frame. A 15-11 triumph handed MIT its first defeat, sent Smith to its first NCAA Tournament in over two decades and gave the Bears their first NEWMAC title since 2005.
Prior to Walker’s tenure at Smith College, the Bears posted a rocky 38-125 record over the previous 10 years. Under Walker, Smith has qualified for the NEWMAC tournament in each season (2021-2024), won 16 or more matches in each campaign and won an NCAA Tournament match for the first time in program history. The standard has now been set.
“We’ve always been chasing. When I got here four seasons ago, we were at the bottom of the country. Within a few short years, we’re right where we want to be.” – Greg Walker
“I talked to our staff, and I think for us, it’s a new identity,” Walker said. “We’ve always been chasing. When I got here four seasons ago, we were at the bottom of the country. Within a few short years, we’re right where we want to be. We have some pretty lofty goals. For them to hit that mark last year, knocking off one of the top teams in the country and ruining their undefeated season, I think that was a pretty cool thing. The confidence they have now is a little different, especially the returning group. We held a bunch of interviews with our returners and asked what their goals were. Every single one of them said make it to the Elite Eight.”
In Division 3, Elite Eight matches all the way up until the national championship are played at the same venue. So Smith’s goal is to get to that final destination knowing that’s where they need to be to hoist the grandest trophy of them all.
To do that, the Bears have to replace two All-Americans on top of their starting libero — all three of which graduated last spring. Abby Sweeney earned All-American honors for her intimidating presence on the right side, Taylor Gwynne was an All-American setter dishing it out to Sweeney and Co. while Sarah Dankovich anchored the defense as the libero.
Through transfers and a tall incoming first-year class full of athletes, Walker has the perfect mix of veterans and young talent to fill the holes of last year’s seniors. Senior Abby Hunt — who Walker said could have easily played in the SEC in her home state of Louisiana — will be the go-to outside hitter, sophomore Skye Higashihara transferred from Bates and is as steady a setter as they come and junior Anna Feuer took a huge leap in the offseason and has impressed Walker early on.
Smith College is just as loaded this year, and the Bears look every bit the part. With 11 players standing 6-feet or taller, Walker would put his group up against any team on the East Coast — in any division.
“My friend who’s on staff at Georgia was saying we may be one of the tallest teams out of all three divisions on the East Coast,” Walker said. “We’re one of the biggest teams outside of maybe [two or three] in this region. We’re really physical, and we brought in hitters from top clubs across the country. As a staff, I think we nailed the mark.”
Over the past half decade or so, Smith College has taken its already strong brand to another level. Smith already had some of the finest academics in the country, and now, the Bears’ athletic programs are reaching profound levels of success.
The volleyball program has Walker, who has an impressive track record coaching at USA Volleyball and USC, among many other stops. The basketball program has Lynn Hersey, who has turned it into a national powerhouse with annual trips to the Final Four. The soccer program has Kathy Brawn, who racked up over 300 Division 1 wins and 11 conference tournament championships at Colgate.
Walker said the community at Smith has made the transformation of the volleyball program that much easier for him.
“Lynn is like my person here,” Walker said. “She is the first person to send me text messages, the first person to come to my office, and she was the first to be like, ‘You’re going to get them there. You have our support. This is happening.’ It just speaks to the community, having coworkers and colleagues that believe in you. Kathy Brawn is another one. She’s trying to turn her program around here, but before that, she’s probably top 12 in Division 1 wins for women’s collegiate soccer. To have her, to have Lynn and just those people supporting our program and pumping energy into us is really incredible.”
Smith College, which ended last year ranked No. 23 in the NCAA’s NPI rankings and begins this year as the first team outside of the top 25 in the AVCA Preseason Coaches Poll, starts the season on the road on Friday with a doubleheader against Montclair State and Mount Aloysius.