SUNY Potsdam Athletics

Jenna Blujus was one of the most talented members of the SUNY Potsdam women's volleyball program in its almost 50-year history. As she improved, so did the team and she was recognized with multiple all-conference selections. Blujus has also reached great heights in medical research after her Potsdam years.
 
Blujus was surrounded by sports growing up. The Baldwinsville native's father played baseball and was a big fan of the Buffalo Bills. She was the youngest of three siblings. Her brother Ben was a serious hockey player and her sister Renee played multiple sports. She was always with her family as they attended practices and games until she was old enough to participate herself.
 
Blujus loved playing baseball, with her father coaching her, and competed against boys until middle school. She also tried cross country, field hockey, lacrosse and basketball. But one sport separated itself from the others. She gave up the other sports in high school, playing for her high school volleyball team in the fall and competing for her club team the rest of the year.
 
"The thing that made me really commit to it was, I not only love the physicality of the game, but also the mental side to it," said Blujus. "There was strategy involved and there were so many skills that you had to master to be a good player and also to be a good teammate. I think that was so challenging for me. There are just so many aspects of the game, that's kind of why I ended up focusing in on volleyball."
 
At C.W. Baker, Blujus was a key part of a very successful high school program. She and her teammates dominated Section III and routinely made deep runs into the state playoffs. Blujus was asked to play many roles and positions, and it was a challenge she managed adeptly.
 
"When I was in high school, I really I changed positions each year," Blujus said. "And so that came with its own challenges of just figuring out what my team needed and then just adapting to that new position. It was this total mental game, but also learning how to be a good teammate. It's obviously not an individual game. It's about your team."
 
By her junior year, coaches had started to approach her about playing the sport at the college level. Her decision came down to SUNYAC rivals Geneseo and Potsdam. She chose the Knights, at least at first.
 
"I had actually initially committed to Geneseo," said Blujus. "But then I took my tour of Potsdam a little bit later, and I just really fell in love with not only the school, but the program."
 
Another key part of her change of heart was then Bears coach Steve Pike and a future teammate.
 
"At the time, Coach Pike was running volleyball, and I had known him through the USA programs," Blujus said. "So, I had already been coached by him. I knew his style, and I was really excited by his goals for the program. And to be honest, that really kind of changed my perspective. And I knew he had recruited Dakota Pruiss, who is in my class, and I played with her at USA. I remember that being a big change point in my decision making too, because she was such an amazing player and leader. So, when I took some time, I just thought I would be able to grow more in the end at Potsdam."
 
Blujus arrived on campus in August 2010 for preseason as a freshman. She was very nervous but was made to feel at home very quickly.
 
"Getting used to new teammates, a new program and a new atmosphere and being by myself," said Blujus. "So I remember being really scared. But I loved preseason. Honestly, I got comfortable really quick because one thing that I loved about the program was that (Pike) had one of our coaches from USA come in. She helped us a lot with just getting to know the personality of all the girls on the team and how we could more effectively communicate and give feedback to one another. And I just thought that was really unique. There's like a big psychological edge in our program. I loved our drills. I loved being able to work with Coach Pike."
 
As the preseason wound down, Blujus and her teammates scrimmaged one of the other local programs. She didn't expect to see the court much.
 
"I think I started and played for the entire scrimmage," Blujus said. "And I remember that just being really reassuring. Like, okay, I am able to compete at this level and contribute. I got comfortable right away. And I think just because of coach's feedback, I was able to know that I could contribute even from my freshman year."
 
The 2010 women's volleyball team was full of potential but very young and inexperienced. The Bears picked up some wins early in the season but struggled down the stretch, finishing with a 6-26 mark. Blujus stood out from the outset. She recorded 10 kills, 32 assists, 15 digs and four aces against Buffalo State on September 4, just the second day of the season. She had another 32 assists and four aces against St. Lawrence. She continued to consistently produce for the Bears until she dislocated her knee during a match. The injury cut her season short and put her athletic career in doubt.
 
"That really freaked me out because I didn't know if I'd recover and if I could play next year," said Blujus. "That was a really difficult point for me, because I had never been like that before, where I actually had to sit out games."
 
While she was done for the season, she was able to make a full recovery. Despite the shortened campaign, Blujus still left her mark. She led the Bears with 403 assists and 35 aces. She was third in digs with 206 and fifth with 76 kills.
 
Blujus and her Bears teammates worked hard leading up to her sophomore season.
 
"We had a great program," Blujus said. "We had really great support staff and resources. We put in so much work in the offseason to really understand and increase our volleyball IQ. That was so we could work on our trust in our teammates and so that could start to translate to the court."
 
Despite being an underclassman, Blujus felt that she could be a leader on the team. She also had more confidence in remaining in the setter position instead of moving to a new one as she had done many times in high school. The team's offseason efforts paid off as the Bears bounced back in 2011. Potsdam opened the season on an 8-1 run. Blujus had five kills, 35 assists and 18 digs in a win over Saint Michael's on September 3, and nearly identical numbers in a victory over Southern Vermont a week later. The Bears went 4-0 in the Oswego Invitational on October 7-8. She registered 119 assists, 40 digs, 13 kills and nine aces in the contests to claim the tournament's Most Valuable Player honors. She totaled a then personal-best 44 assists in a victory over Kean a week later. The Bears finished the season 19-17, their most victories since 2008. Blujus led the team with 889 assists, 373 digs and 66 aces. She also had 100 kills and 18 blocks. The performance earned her first team All-SUNYAC recognition. The honor took her by surprise.
 
"I was so blown away," said Blujus. "It felt like reinforcement that all the effort I was putting in was coming to fruition. To be recognized across the conference and also to be first team despite not making playoffs, I just remember that being a really big moment of like, oh, wow."
 
Blujus and her team took another leap forward in 2012. The Bears were just over .500 at 10-8 nearly halfway through the season despite the usual reliable production from Blujus. Potsdam then got hot, winning 13 of its final 20 matches and clinching its first postseason berth in four years. During the run, Blujus recorded a career-high 47 assists at Union on October 6. In the first round of the SUNYAC Championships at Buffalo State, in front of relatives, she put up 38 assists as the Bears downed Oneonta 3-1 for the program's first playoff victory since 2007. Unfortunately, Fredonia swept Potsdam 3-0 in the second round. Three days later, the Bears earned the fifth seed in the ECAC Upstate/Metro Championship Tournament. Kean defeated Potsdam 3-0 despite another 26 assists, 10 digs, four kills and two aces from Blujus. After leading the SUNYAC with a program record 84 aces and the Bears in assists (1104) and digs (463), the setter claimed first team all-conference honors for the second year in a row.
 
"I remember being really, really proud of that team," Blujus said. I felt like we were truly all on the same page. And also being in the upperclassmen role at this point, because I felt like even from my freshman year, I had been a leader. But it was kind of nice that that was catching up with my years of experience. I felt like I could see a lot of the girls turning to me on the team."
 
Blujus remained driven to improve as an athlete, despite her previous success. She took every opportunity to fine tune every aspect of her game.
 
"I put so much time into it," said Blujus. "So outside of the time I had to go to classes, I would pretty much be at Maxcy Hall every hour of the day. Pike would do individual practices with people. So when our defenders were coming in and getting reps, I would come in and set their balls. We had a machine that would track the accuracy of your sets, and I'd come in and set with that machine over and over again."
 
After the season, head coach Steve Pike left Potsdam to take the same position at Brockport. The news was a huge shock to Blujus and her teammates.
 
"I remember being super devastated," Blujus said. "I still have very clear memories of having that meeting with him telling us he was leaving. I was so proud of how much progress we had made over my time in the program. My freshman year, we had a losing record. Then we turn that around my sophomore year, and then we made it to the playoffs and even cleared one round. So I just thought our trajectory was going up and up and it felt like we really did a lot of work to get everybody to buy into the program. That was obviously all driven by Pike and his vision. So that was really devastating."
 
A committee was formed to hire Pikes's replacement and Blujus and Pruiss, being team leaders, were selected to represent the team. They helped select Pike's former assistant, and then head coach at Southern Vermont Josh Stokes, to become the program's new leader. Blujus was pleased with the choice.
 
"I loved Stokes' energy," said Blujus. "And he was obviously very different from Pike, personality wise and coaching style. But he always strived for excellence. It was a very different program that he led. I feel like his background was very West Coast volleyball. So that was interesting, getting used to that style. I really enjoyed playing under him. It was super devastating having Pike leave, but I think that Coach Stokes came in and he was really empathetic to that change. But he really tried to take advantage of the talent that we had on our team to lead us through a good season."
 
She also appreciated how Stokes treated her as an individual.
 
"He made me feel very comfortable and looked after, which I appreciated a lot because he didn't really have to invest in me," Blujus said. "I was pretty much a one semester athlete for him. But he always made me feel looked after a lot."
 
Assessing the roster, Stokes decided to shift some of his athletes' roles to where he felt they could make a bigger impact. With the arrival of skilled transfer setter Lauren Manzo, Stokes reduced Blujus' time at that position. Blujus was one of his best and most experienced athletes, so the move didn't phase her. She immediately became one of Potsdam's top offensive threats. The Bears defeated Hartwick and Emmanuel on the first day of the season. Blujus contributed 12 kills, 22 assists, 17 digs and seven aces in the win over the Saints. Potsdam cooled off after the strong start, winning just four of its next 13 contests. All the while, Blujus continued to create problems for opposing defenses. She had a career-high 17 kills along with 25 assists and 18 digs in a nonconference win over Plattsburgh on September 6. The next day she added 16 kills, 20 assists and 23 digs against Saint Michael's.
 
A loss to St. Lawrence on September 21, saw the Bears sitting at 6-9. However, Potsdam heated up at the right time, defeating three conference opponents the following weekend to open SUNYAC play. Blujus had nine kills, 13 assists, 10 digs in three aces in a sweep of Oneonta. The next day, Potsdam upset host Cortland 3-2, just the program's third ever win over the Red Dragons at the time. Blujus had 11 kills, 20 assists, 18 digs and two aces in the victory. Potsdam then handled Oswego 3-1, thanks in part to seven kills, 25 assists and 19 digs from its senior leader. After a five-set loss to a tough Canton team, the Bears claimed consecutive 3-0 wins from Daniel Webster, Newbury and Geneseo. The win over the Knights marked the start of the second weekend of SUNYAC Pool play had Potsdam in first place at 4-0. Conference losses to Plattsburgh, Fredonia, Buffalo State and New Paltz knocked the Bears back to .500 in conference play, but 3-1 win over Brockport put Potsdam back in the playoffs. Blujus had nine kills and 19 digs against the Golden Eagles. The Bears closed out the regular season with a loss at St. Lawrence and wins over St. John Fisher and Alfred University. On November 8, The Bears bowed to Plattsburgh in the first round of the SUNYAC Tournament to close out their season at 15-16 and 5-4 in conference play. Blujus earned her third straight first team All-SUNYAC nod after a team-leading 72 aces. She was second on the team in assists (386), kills (217) and digs (391). In 127 matches over her four seasons, she compiled 2,808 assists, 537 kills, 257 service aces, 1,443 digs and 108 blocks. Blujus is Potsdam's all-time leader in aces and ranks second in assists and digs.
 
The following spring, Blujus unexpectedly lost her father John to a heart attack. The challenge of arranging funeral services fell to Blujus and her siblings. As difficult as that time in her life was, she appreciated the support she received from the SUNY Potsdam community.
 
"Coach Stokes drove the whole team out to come to my dad's wake in Buffalo," said Blujus. "I was only his athlete for one semester and for him to support me like that meant more than anything. I remember to this day, he pulled me into another room and he said you know, you've got to take your time with this tragedy and loss, but you can't drop out of school. You have to finish your semester, your goals. That's what's most important. I think that was the advice that I needed at the time. And even though Pike had left, he reached out to me during that time too. So I think that just says a lot about the program. And that also made me really happy about choosing Potsdam. It was a really a supportive environment."
 
The same spring Blujus was voted as the Maxcy/Molnar Award winner, Potsdam's top senior athlete, at the end of the year banquet. The award meant a lot to her.
 
"I just remember feeling really proud of myself," Blujus said. "That might sound like a small statement, but at the time, I really struggled with self-acknowledgment and self-acceptance. So to have that recognition just kind of mirrored what I was doing day in and day out. It gave me reassurance that all the effort I was putting into school and all the effort I was putting into athletics really stood out. And I still to this day, have that award up in my apartment because in tough times, I like to remind myself you persisted through adversity in the past, you can do it again and just strive for the big goals."
 
Blujus came to Potsdam with the intention of becoming an elementary school teacher. However, she discovered a whole new path through her course work.
 
"I was an early childhood education major," Blujus said. "I thought I was going to be a first grade teacher but, through the class requirements, I had to take Psychology. I slowly recognized my love for Psychology, and I switched my major. Then I took a few neuroscience courses, and I realized the brain was the most fascinating thing in the world for me. Then I added a Biology minor."
 
By her senior year, Blujus was considering graduate programs and decided to stay at Potsdam an extra year to take some more courses to prepare. During her extra time in the North Country, she served as an assistant for her old team. In May 2015, she graduated with her bachelor's in Psychology.
 
By the fall she was at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee studying Experimental Psychology with a focus in Neuroscience. Her research focused on aging and Alzheimer's Disease. She used MRI, eye-tracking, and translational cognitive tasks to identify brain and cognitive changes in individuals at risk for Alzheimer's disease.
 
"I always knew I wanted to help people," said Blujus. "I thought that Alzheimer's Disease was a pretty devastating disorder where you're losing one of the most precious things you have, your memories and your relationships and your ability to be independent. I knew a goal of mine all my life was to make an impact, but I didn't really know how. As I took those neuroscience courses, I realized there's still a lot to learn. The disease was only becoming more and more prevalent. So I thought if I could put some effort towards that and contribute knowledge in that field, maybe I can help contribute to paving a better future for people."
 
Blujus spent six years at Milwaukee taking courses, doing her own research and teaching classes. She completed her master's in 2019 and in 2021 she earned her Ph.D. Following her time in the Midwest, Blujus was appointed to a postdoctoral research fellowship at Brown University to further her efforts. She eventually hopes to be a faculty member at an R1 university (research university) to continue her Alzheimer's research. In considering her past in athletics, Blujus sees both similarities and differences in her current professional life.
 
"I was so used to being on a team from literally t-ball until the age of 22," Blujus said. "And so now, getting used to working on my own is really interesting. But actually one thing that I love is I feel like my sports experience has really helped me be a leader at work too. Just learning how to make all the different members of the team communicate effectively."
 
Blujus has achieved many big accomplishments as a volleyball player, student and in medical research, but she realizes she did it with the support of many around her.
 
"I never would have gotten any of those awards without all my teammates there," said Blujus. "My ability to put in all that extra time depended on the dedication of my coaches to come in after hours or a teammate to come in and dig a ball so I could set it or hit it. So I really want to acknowledge all my teammates during that time and their support because it was challenging. They really motivated and pushed me."