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December 30, 2009

Top 10: Glass caps career with 3rd title

BY DENNIS CHASE

Editor's Note: As we count down the top 10 sports stories of 2009, read them as they're published at record-eagle.com/top10sports.

TRAVERSE CITY -- Alisha Glass and her Penn State teammates saved the best for last.

Down 0-2 in the Division 1 volleyball finals, the Nittany Lions showed the heart of a champion in coming back to beat Texas to win an unprecedented third consecutive national title.

The achievement, capping an incredible four-year career for the All-American setter from Leland, is our No. 2 story of 2009.

"Down 0-2, I don't think too many people expected us to win it," Glass said. "They were counting us out. It was pretty awesome to be able to come back and finish off a good four years."

How good? No area athlete has ever experienced the success Glass has at the collegiate level. The dramatic win over Texas extended Penn State's win streak to 102 matches. The last time the Nittany Lions lost was early in her sophomore year. The winning streak is second in Division I team sports behind the Miami men's tennis program's 137 straight victories from 1957-64.

With all of the success, some are calling this Penn State team the greatest in NCAA history.

"It's hard (to think of that)," Glass said. "We're just a team. We have our issues. We have our highs. We have our lows. It's hard to think of us that way.

"We definitely had a great four years, though, and I wish them the best of luck the next couple (years) because there are going to be high expectations."

Just like this year. In fact, Glass said there were some who had doubts the Nittany Lions could three-peat.

"People thought we were going to be a good team and that we should do well," Glass said. "People were a little skeptical how dominant we were going to be. We definitely surprised people."

The Texas Longhorns included. After all, Texas was just one game away from wresting the title from the Nittany Lions.

"It took a lot of fight, a lot of heart for us to dig deep and win the next couple games to put us in position to win the match," Glass said. "I'm proud of the way the team played."

Glass was once again named to the all-tournament team. Another honor in her remarkable career.

"When I started as a freshman I had a lot of goals, a lot of dreams, things I wanted to accomplish," she said. "Now that I'm done, it's pretty amazing that we were able to accomplish most of those goals. Not everybody gets to live out their dreams. I got to do that."

Glass still has one semester of school left. She'll graduate with a degree in kinesiology with a minor in human development and family studies.

Then there's the Olympics. Glass is hoping to do an internship in California this summer so she can train with the national team, something she and teammate Megan Hodge did last summer as well.

After that, she could play professionally overseas.

"That's the goal," she said, "to see where it (volleyball) takes me."

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