Russ Rose Then (1996): “Jen was our quickest player for the past couple of years, and, if she has the confidence to come in and do the things she does well, then I think she’ll be fine. She has great reaction time, and, if we can put her in a system that will really highlight that, then I think Jen makes a valuable contribution as a back row player.”
Russ Rose Now (2025): “One thing that was noteworthy about Jen — she tells the story really well — is that she was dyslexic. When she came to Penn State (it was before the libero position) I’d say to her “You play hard, you’re always smiling, you’re a very competitive individual, and I want that to carry over to your academics, because you’re never going to be the first person people talk about on the team — even if you have a great match — because backrow players don’t garner that kind of attention.” And she did — she was on the Academic All-Big Ten Team in 1997, and she was on two teams that went to the Final Four (1994 and 1997). She was always a great team player and contributed to the team’s success. After graduation, she was a teacher and a coach and now she does physical training for people remotely.”
1996 Season (RS Junior) Highlights and Awards: Academic All-Big Ten selection … together with fellow seniors Terri Zemaitis and Teri Wroblewski, finished her career with a 4-year record of 123-17 overall and 67-4 at home, with 2 Big Ten titles (1996 — shared with Michigan State — and 1997 — shared with Wisconsin) and 2 Final Fours (1994 semifinal loss to UCLA and 1997 National Championship match 5-set loss to a Stanford team led by Kerri Walsh).
Season Recap: Burdis was a stalwart for the Lions in the back row … she appeared in 20 matches and 41 sets, registering 58 digs (1.41 digs/set) …set a career-high for digs with 10 in Penn State’s 3-1 win (19-9, 10-14, 18-10, 17-14) in the “TV format scoring” match vs. #5-ranked Michigan State (11/9).
NCAA Tournament: Recorded 3 digs versus Georgia Tech (12/8) in the NCAA Second Round.
Before Penn State: At Blue Mountain High School, Jen participated in volleyball (playing setter) in which she earned all-league, all-county, and all-district recognition, basketball (where she was a guard), and track & field, running the 4 x 100 and 4x 400 relays, long-jumping, and throwing the javelin. In her senior year, she qualified for states in basketball and placed 9th in the javelin. In 2006, Jen was inducted into both the Blue Mountain Sports Hall of Fame and the ARC Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame.
“Lady spikers to make title run,” The Daily Collegian, Jul. 30, 1997
“Burdis plays big on court,” The Daily Collegian, Nov. 12, 1996
“Kamner’s playing improves,” The Daily Collegian, Oct. 21, 1994
