Former Slippery Rock University women's volleyball standout Jen Blasko returns to the court this season as a graduate assistant.
Blasko capped her career by being named the 2008-09 NCAA Division II Conference Commissioners' Association's Atlantic Region female Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
The Atlantic Region competition included the top student-athletes from the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association.
Blasko's regional honor came on the heels of her selection as a first-team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® performer by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), as the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Pete Nevins Scholar-Athlete of the Year winner and as a recipient of the PSAC Fall Top Ten Award in 2008-09.
Blasko, who hails from Summit Hill and is a graduate of Marian Catholic High School, graduated from SRU in May 2009 with a perfect 4.0 grade point average as an exercise science major and is currently enrolled in SRU's nationally renowned physical therapy graduate program.
On the court, Blasko earned Daktronics Inc. first-team and American Volleyball Coaches Association honorable mention all-region honors in 2008. She ranked ninth in the PSAC in kills (2.96 pg) and led the team in kills, digs (3.02 pg) and service aces (52).
Blasko concluded her collegiate career as a four-year starter for veteran Rock head coach Laurie Lokash. She was a three-time All-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference-Western Division selection and a two-time AVCA all-region selection.
She also earned ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District® honors in each of her final three seasons and was a four-year member of the PSAC Scholar-Athlete list.
Blasko helped lead The Rock to a 26-12 record and a fourth consecutive berth in the NCAA Tournament in 2008, as well as a berth in the PSAC Tournament for the second time in her four years. She is one of only three players in Rock history to have played in the NCAA Tournament all four seasons of her collegiate eligibility.
