SV netter Boyd picks Ball State
JACKSON TWP — Jen Boyd admits she was starting from scratch when she began playing volleyball in eighth grade.
That was then, this is now.
The Seneca Valley senior middle hitter recently announced her decision to play at Ball State University in Muncie, Ind.
"I loved the coaches and the other girls," said Boyd, who visited the campus recently and will be on scholarship.
Boyd was also considering Marquette University.
"When it came time to make my decision, I just felt that Ball State's Coach (Dave) Boos could make me a better player."
Boyd's resume is an impressive one.
She began starting her sophomore year and was recently voted all-section for the second straight season. She entered Tuesday's WPIAL Class AAA playoff match against Connellsville (a 3-0 win) with 114 kills and 94 blocks this year.
Boyd is a big reason why the Raiders (17-2) will be playing in the district semifinals against Upper St. Clair at 7:30 p.m. today at Chartiers Valley.
"She's a smart net player," said Raiders coach Karen Martini. "She blocks very well and, many times, I like to match her up with the other team's best hitter."
But before she could become a dominant player in the WPIAL and receive a scholarship from a Division I school, Boyd had to go through a few growing pains.
"Back when I started, I had no knowledge of the game," she said. "But I've improved all-around since then, like just knowing where to be on the court."
Boyd has also benefitted from playing for Renaissance, a Junior OlympicS team, the last three years.
But she believes that her best attribute was not learned.
"My jumping ability," said Boyd, who is 6 feet tall. "I can jump pretty high."
And far. She's got the WPIAL Class AAA gold medal in the long jump from last spring to prove it.
"Over the last five or so years, we've had about 30 of our players go to a Division I school to play volleyball and 25 of them have started as freshmen," said Brian Begor, director of Renaissance and Boyd's coach. "We feel we've been able to put the players in a position where they can make the transition to the college game rather seamlessly."
Boyd will be joining a Ball State team that just wrapped up its 2007 season with a 3-21 overall record, 2-10 in Mid-American Conference play, under Boos in his first year with the team.
Despite the Cardinals' struggles, Boyd likes the direction the program is headed.
"Coach Boos is trying to find the missing pieces to the team," Boyd said. "My class is the first one he's been able to recruit there, and he said I'll probably be starting as a freshman."
