Feb. 18, 2011
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Senior Penn State women's volleyball player Blair Brown (Purcellville, Va.) was named the Female Athlete of the Month for January 2011, the United States Sports Academy announced.
In December 2011, the Academy will name the Male and Female Athlete of the Year for the 27th consecutive year. The recipients of this prestigious award are selected annually through worldwide balloting hosted by the Academy in conjunction with USA Today and NBC Sports.
This year, the Athlete of the Year ballot will feature 10 male and 10 female candidates. As January's Female Athlete of the Month, Brown will be considered as a candidate for the 2011 Athlete of the Year ballot.
The United State Sports Academy is an independent, non-profit, accredited, special mission sports university created to serve the nation and the world with programs in instruction, research and service. The role of the Academy is to prepare men and women for careers in the profession of sports.
Brown, who became the sixth straight Nittany Lion to be named the Big Ten Player of the Year in 2010, is a three-time AVCA All-American and was integral in Penn State's four consecutive NCAA titles. A three-time All-Big Ten selection, Brown earned Second Team laurels in 2008 and First Team honors in 2009 and 2010. Brown started all 37 matches in 2010 and led the Nittany Lions with 521 kills, averaging 4.24 kills per set on .320 hitting. She was second on the team with 281 digs (2.28 digs per set) and 113 total blocks (0.92 blocks per set). Her 4.24 kills per set ranked second in the Big Ten and 21st nationally, while her .323 attack percentage ranked ninth in the league. Also, her 4.72 points per set ranked 18th in the nation. In 2010, Brown was a Unanimous Preseason All-Big Ten pick and earned conference player of the week laurels three times. She surpassed the 1,000 career kills milestone in 2010 and closed out her career with 1,295 kills.
For more information on the Penn State women's volleyball team, please visit www.GoPSUsports.com. The Penn State men's volleyball 2010 season is presented by Rockvale Outlets and The Outlets at Hershey.