Alisha Glass’ 48 kills in the 2006 MHSAA Class D Volleyball Final remain the championship match standard, especially impressive considering who Leland beat and how the Comets won that day.  

And her legendary status has continued to grow with successes at the collegiate and now national team levels as well.

Less than a decade after graduating with the most kills, blocks and aces in national high school history, Glass has emerged as one of the top setters in the United States – and a candidate to set the U.S. Olympic team in 2016 after being selected to the team as an alternate two years ago.

Glass was named USA Volleyball Indoor Female Athlete of the Year at the end of 2013 after leading the U.S. team to gold medals at the 2013 NORCECA Continental Championship in Nebraska and Pan American Cup in Peru. She averaged 10.22 assists per set and started 28 of 31 matches for the U.S. team last year. (Click for Glass' USA Volleyball bio.)

As a 6-foot hitter and the daughter of Leland coach Laurie Glass, Alisha helped the Comets reach the 2005 Class D Final before they fell to St. Philip 25-19, 25-19, 25-14. A year later, Glass had 48 of her team’s 69 kills, five of the Comets’ eight aces and a team-high 27 digs as Leland overcame the Tigers in five games after dropping the first two – 21-25, 20-25, 25-19, 25-23 and 15-9.

St. Philip has won all eight Class D championships since falling that morning at Western Michigan University.

After finishing at Leland, Glass started all four of her seasons at Penn State and set the Nittany Lions to three straight NCAA championships.

Although her MHSAA career blocks record has been broken, the career kills and aces records still stand in Michigan and nationally.

Glass returned to Leland in the fall for the retirement of her jersey. Below is video from that event courtesy of WPBN in Traverse City.

PHOTO: (Top) Leland’s Alisha Glass (left) celebrates with a teammate during the 2005 Class D Final.