Volleyball Signee

[Captain Kangaroo]

PG NORTH: Shaler player nets volleyball scholarship to AkronThursday, July 20, 2006By Chris Adamski, Tri-State Sports & News ServiceJessica Antosz has built a career on being proficient at blocking.In fact, she's blocked others so often and so well it has opened doors.Antosz, a 5-foot-11 middle hitter, became the first female volleyball player from Shaler Area High School to receive a full athletic scholarship when she made a verbal commitment to the University of Akron this spring."It's real exciting to be the first to represent Shaler this way," Antosz said. "Especially since our program has just been starting to get turned around the past two or three years with coach [Kris] Ruppert."Last season, the Titans finished fifth in WPIAL Class AAA -- their best placing in years ---- and Antosz was a big reason why. As a junior, she led Shaler in kills and blocks for the second consecutive season."She's very quick she's a good jumper ---- she can touch 9-10 [9 feet, 10 inches while jumping]," Ruppert said. "And for a high school kid, she's just an unbelievable blocker. At the college level, it's very, very important to college coaches that you can block. The college coaches that have watched her play say she blocks like a 6-2 girl."Antosz has been told by the coaches at Akron and other schools -- Temple also offered her a scholarship, and Syracuse was among the others interested -- that she understands innately where to line up across from an opponent. Antosz's anticipation is key in her blocking abilities, as are her quick feet."Her timing is one of the many things that sets her apart," Ruppert said. "It's a very touch skill for high school kids to learn the proper timing and footwork. There have only been a few high school kids out there who have been good at it, and she's one of them."Antosz also plays for the Pittsburgh Renaissance club team that earned 10th place at the junior nationals last week in Atlanta.A full Division-I scholarship and spot on a nationally recognized club team? Not bad for a kid who only started to play the sport four years ago. A basketball player growing up, Antosz quickly realized she had a knack for volleyball and focused all of her efforts on the sport within two years of beginning to play it."When I first came to Shaler, she liked volleyball, but it was just something else to do," Ruppert said. "Then all of a sudden, when she realized how good she could be, she really, really progressed and started taking it to another level."Starting in the fall of 2007, the level she will be at is with the Mid-American Conference Zips, who finished in fourth place in the MAC's East Division last season."I really liked the girls on the team," Antosz said. "They seemed to enjoy everything. The coaches seemed down-to-earth, and I looked into their business department, which is what I plan on studying."But Antosz has one more season to help the Titans, who finished third in their section last season and defeated section rivals and traditional powers North Allegheny and Seneca Valley in the same season "for the first time in a lot of years" Ruppert said."Last year we had one of the best seasons we have had in a long time," Ruppert said. "We have a lot of returning starters. I'm looking forward to a good season coming up. We're headed in the right direction."Antosz is similarly excited for her senior season and spoke of aspirations for a deep WPIAL playoff run. Her post-high school plans set, she isn't letting up, working out with her teammates for conditioning three days per week this summer."It's fantastic for Jessica, great for her and her family," Ruppert said of the scholarship.