RYLEIGH WARFEL SMITH
Ryleigh Warfel Smith is one of the most accomplished volleyball players in Parkland College history. She is a rare two-time NJCAA Division II First-Team All-American Volleyball player, a feat she earned for both the 2018 and 2019 seasons while helping to lead the Cobras to back-to-back National Runner-Up finishes both years. During the 2018 National Volleyball Tournament, Ryleigh was recognized for her excellent play by being named to the All-Tournament Team. During her two seasons with the Cobras, she had a career record of 113 wins and only six losses. The 113 wins for her class, makes her and her classmates the winningest volleyball class in program history.
During the 2018 season, she was named the Conference Volleyball Player-of-The-Year, All-Conference First-Team, and NJCAA Region 24 All-Region First-Team. She amassed 463 kills (3.38 kills/set), which was the 17th highest total in the country that season, along with 49 Aces and 540 digs (3.94/set). She followed up that impressive freshman campaign with a 2019 season that included being named the NJCAA Region 24 Player-Of-The-Year and Region 24 All-First Team while achieving the19th highest kill total in the country at 463 kills (3.09 kills/set), 42 Aces, and 489 Digs (3.26/set).
Ryleigh was as good in the classroom as she was on the court, earning NCJAA All-Academic Team Honors for the 2018–2019 academic year. She continued her excellent academic and volleyball career at the University of Illinois Springfield after her time with the Cobras was complete. Unfortunately, the COVID pandemic abbreviated her volleyball career at UIS, only allowing her to play in 42 matches in the abbreviated 2020 and 2021 seasons. During the Fall 2021 campaign, she achieved the second highest kills total on the team and achieved double-digit kills in 13 matches. She was also named a member of the GLVC Academic All-Conference Team enroute to earning a Bachelor’s degree in Interpersonal Communication with a minor in Business Management from UIS.
Ryleigh began a family volleyball legacy with the Cobras as she paved the way for her two younger sisters, Landry (2022 and 2023) and Hailey (2024 and 2025), to also don a Cobras Volleyball jersey. She married her husband, Jordan Smith, in 2025, and the couple currently lives in Champaign. Ryleigh is currently a salesperson for Gordon Food Service, where she has earned their Gold Club recognition and achieved Salesperson-Of-The-Year in the past year.
