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March 14, 2006Best of the BestLeland's Glass easily wins Miss Volleyball
Leland senior Alisha Glass accepts her fourth Miss Volleyball trophy on Monday. Glass won the award by the widest margin ever. The same was true for the fourth Miss Volleyball award, which goes to the state's top senior. Leland's Glass was presented with the trophy on Monday in a ceremony at the high school gymnasium. Glass, who will take her talents to powerhouse Penn State University in the fall, won the award with 434 points. Veronica Rood of Temperance-Bedford was second with 181 and East Kentwood's Katie VanderMeer third with 134. "She won the award with the largest margin in the four years of the award," said Jenny Thunberg, chair of the award committee at the Michigan Interscholastic Volleyball Coaches Association. "It's very well deserved." Glass, who plays tonight in the Class D quarterfinals, is the national record holder in career kills with 3,500. The old national record was 2,638; the former state mark was 2,463. She also holds state and national records for service aces in a season (296) and a career (917). In addition, Glass has 1,770 digs, 676 blocks and is a career .440 hitter. Still, the 6-footer had difficulty grasping the concept that the trophy is hers. "I'm having a hard time with it," she said. "They have a whole list of girls that were nominated for it and they're all great athletes. Just to be listed in that group was an honor." "It's pretty cool," added Laurie Glass, Alisha's coach and mother. "We're the kind of people that don't think we've won an award until we get the award. We were nervous right up to the phone call." Teammates, opponents and other coaches weren't surprised. "I think she deserved it," said Suttons Bay senior Holly Orban, who attended Monday's ceremony. "She's a great athlete. I look up to her and respect her - both height-wise and talent-wise." "I've played with her for three seasons now and some of my most memorable volleyball experiences involve Alisha," said Leland senior Daina Parent, who celebrated her 18th birthday on Monday. "She's amazing to play with. She's very deserving and she works real hard." Laurie Glass said her daughter's work ethic is the thing that impresses her, more so as a parent than as a coach. "I'm more proud of her as a mom, that's easy," Laurie Glass said. "I'm proud because I know the number of hours she spent, the number of summer time and the number of things she turned down to get better at this sport. I know how much this really means. "The truth is there's a lot of missed social activities, a lot of weekends and a lot of summers spent away from the most beautiful area in the world to go train in 100-degree gyms in Texas, Utah and Puerto Rico. "You can't account for that time if you weren't there." That's also why Alisha Glass - in addition to thanking her teammates, fellow students and staff at Leland - had something special to say about her mother. "Without her this wouldn't have been possible," Alisha Glass said. "She always told me to dream big and to set my goals high. Thank you, and I love you." Glass said she dreamed of winning an award like this, which came along just in time. "When I was a little girl, I dreamed about this award," she said. "I heard stories that (Leland's) Julie Polakowski was the first Miss Basketball and then I remember when (Glen Lake's) Liz Shimek won it. "It didn't occur to me that there wasn't a Miss Volleyball (yet)." Beyond all the records and eye-popping statistics, Leland High School principal Terry Breen talked about Glass' accomplishments in the classroom, including a 3.7 grade-point average. "We're as proud of you as a person beyond being a volleyball phenom," Breen said. "Perhaps more important is the way you've carried yourself though all this attention." "That girl has more class than she has ability in volleyball," added Suttons Bay coach Mike Kelly, who was also on hand for the award ceremony. The trophy, which gave even Alisha Glass a workout because of its size, is sponsored by the Detroit Free Press. "It's huge," Glass said. "(Breen) gave it to me and wanted me to hold it and I'm like, 'Whoa, it's pretty big.' "
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