After closing out a spectacular athletic and academic career for Worcester State, Alyssa Jasper has been named the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) nominee for NCAA Woman of the Year. 

The NCAA Woman of the Year Award honors graduating student-athletes who have distinguished themselves throughout their collegiate careers in the areas of academic achievement, athletics excellence, service and leadership. The award has been given annually since 1991. The 2015 NCAA Woman of the Year will be announced on October 18 in Indianapolis, Indiana. More information on the award and a list of previous winners can be found here.

Along with the NCAA Woman of the Year nomination, Jasper was named as the MASCAC Female Scholar Athlete of the Year. The MASCAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year has been awarded annually since 1980 to a student-athlete who has excelled in both the classroom and field of play while maintaining at least a 3.20 cumulative grade point average through their last year of athletic eligibility.

“I am honored to be a recipient of both awards,” Jasper said. “It is great to be rewarded not only for my efforts on the court and track, but also for my work in the classroom.”

Jasper has been stellar for the Lancers as a three sport athlete competing in volleyball, indoor and outdoor track and field. On the volleyball court, she is a four-time All-MASCAC outside hitter who helped pace the Lancers to the league tournament every year with conference finals appearances in 2011 and 2014. This past fall, Jasper was instrumental in propelling the team to a 24-10 record and the ECAC Division III Tournament semifinals.

In addition to setting the career record for kills (1,292), she also led New England in kills (502) during her senior year en-route to MASCAC Player of the Year honors, an American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-New England Honorable Mention certificate and a spot in the New England Women’s Volleyball Association (NEWVA) All-Star Senior Classic.

Her success wasn’t limited to volleyball as Jasper as she qualified for the NCAA Division III Track & Field Championships seven times including the javelin on four occasions, the heptathlon twice and the pentathlon during the indoor season of her senior year. She placed eighth in her junior outdoor campaign with All-American recognition, finishing the 2014 NCAA Outdoor Championship with 4,714 points in a field of 22 entrants.

In addition to winning the ECAC Division III Indoor Championship pentathlon title this past March, Jasper has been the heptathlon champion at the Division III New England Outdoor Championships, setting meet records in each of the last two years. In her junior and sophomore year, Jasper won the javelin at the Division III New England Championships and she was the All-Division New England runner-up in the javelin during the spring of 2014.

At the conclusion of her academic career, Jasper finished with a 3.66 grade point average and graduated in May with her degree in nursing. She plans to pursue a career as an emergency response nurse or critical care nurse in an intensive care unit.

Jasper is a member of three honors societies, including Sigma Theta Tu for Nursing, Omicron Delta Kappa for Leadership, and Chi Alpha Sigma, for student-athletes. She has also been lauded as a four-time Capital One College Sports Information Directors (Co-SIDA) All-Academic District I recipient and with United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Academic honors on three occasions. 

Active in the local campus community, she is a member of the Student-Athlete Mentor Program, the student nurses association and she participated in the women’s volleyball team fall project to bring  physical education classes after school on Fridays during the months of October and November to the Chandler Magnet Elementary School.

“I would not have been able to succeed in each of the last four years, if it wasn’t for the support of my coaches, teammates and family,” Jasper said. 

Portions of this release courtesy of Worcester State Sports Information