ERIE — Leading the PSAC in hitting percentage isn’t enough for Becky Smith.

The Butler High School graduate and junior middle blocker for the Mercyhurst College women’s volleyball team wants the squad to lead the PSAC, period.

And it may happen next year.

“I’ll be disappointed if we don’t at least contend for it,” Lakers coach Ryan Patton said. “Four of the top-five teams in our league are senior-laden.

“We’re built more for next year. We only have one senior seeing significant time and all of our starters will be back.”

The 6-foot-2 Smith will be one of the better ones.

Now a three-year starter, she leads the PSAC with a hitting percentage of .328. Smith’s 185 kills are second on the team and her 71 blocks lead the Lakers.

“That’s my job,” Smith said. “I play up front and I’m supposed to guard the net.

“My game is to be aggressive. I want to be the one to win the jousts, the one-on-one battles when it’s just you and an opposing player going up for the ball as it’s crossing the net.”

Patton said Smith excels “at a lot of weird stuff” during the course of a match.

“Becky can protect the floor and anticipates the play so well,” the coach said. “She’ll be making a move to knock down the ball before it even gets to our side of the net.”

Smith is amused by the thought.

“Those are easy points,” she said. “They help the team.”

And the team is what she is all about.

Mercyhurst is 12-13 overall this season, only 2-6 in conference matches. Last year’s team finished 16-16, 8-11 in the PSAC.

“I’m not discouraged because we’ve been in most of those matches we lost,” Smith said. “The bounces haven’t gone our way this year.

“Next year, we’ll have basically the same team on the court with another year of experience. We’re set up to win this thing and that’s my primary goal.”

While Smith leads the PSAC in hitting percentage, the Lakers are just ninth in the league overall in that category.

That makes Smith a valuable commodity — even though she may not be the most noticeable performer on the court.

“The biggest intangible she brings is her steadiness,” Patton said. “I see our team play all the time, so I know what Becky brings each game and how valuable she is.

“Someone walking in off the street, watching us play for the first time, wouldn’t notice that sort of stuff.”

Besides her hitting and blocking, Smith gets plenty of aces when she serves the ball. She led the team, with 38 service aces last year, ranking eighth in the PSAC.

Smith was a team captain her senior year at Butler and was the Golden Tornado volleyball team’s MVP her junior and senior seasons.

“The college game is faster and the level of play is so much higher,” Smith said. “I have to push myself to match the intensity and skill level of other players on the court.”

She’s had little problem doing so.

“I know what I’m getting from Becky every play, every play, every game,” Patton said. “It’s all good.”