On Saturday night, Leland native Alisha Glass set her Penn State volleyball team to the national championship. From Nittany Lions lay it all on the line in NCAA title win at ESPN:
After losing two straight games, the second by 11 points -- letting Stanford tie the match at 2-2, Penn State simply regrouped, slapped on a happy face and took the championship. With Glass setting for Christa Harmotto and Nicole Fawcett, the Lions reeled off seven straight points in the deciding game to win 30-25, 30-26, 23-30, 19-30, 15-8.
You can also see a video report from the match right here (Alisha is #6 and you can see her in a lot of the action!)
In addition to seeing Alisha take charge in the final game with some key plays, I thought it was especially cool in the little video bits of players telling where they're from that ESPN does to hear Alisha say: "My mom was my high school volleyball coach and my grandpa was my high school basketball coach." Congratulations to Alisha and her team!
Photo credit: Breakwall Rocks II by Andy McFarlane
News from the Week
News from the week included a story about Leland grad Alisha Glass's success in college volleyball, including being names to first team all Big Ten and helping Penn State to a #1 ranking. Right now they are in the Sweet Sixteen, so look for her on TV! Other stories included a nice Enterprise piece remembering Leelanau historian Larry Wakefield and a photo of a storm building over the Manitou Passage.
The Week's Weather
We had some stormy, windy weather last weekend and though the winds have died down, we've been getting steady snow and cold temps. Great news for area ski resorts!
November 29, 2007: Breezy & low 30s (33°/19°)
November 30, 2007: Snow, wind & 20s (24°/16°)
December 1, 2007: Windy & low 20s w/ heavy overnight snow (24°/15°)
December 2, 2007: Wet snow & low 30s (34°/24°)
December 3, 2007: Light snow & low 30s (32°/24°)
December 4, 2007: Light snow & 20s (27°/19°)
December 5, 2007: Snow & teens (21°/17°)
Click for the Leelanau news archive from December 2006!
The Record-Eagle reports that Penn State setter and Leland graduate Alisha Glass was named first team all-Big Ten in volleyball. This is a great followup to her selection to the all-freshman team last season.
CSTV.com adds some details on Alisha's accomplishments:
Glass earns her first career All-Big Ten award as she was named to the All-Freshman team a year ago. She was named the Sports Imports/AVCA National and Big Ten Player of the Week on Nov. 19 after leading the Nittany Lions to a combined .350 hitting percentage in wins over No. 9 Wisconsin and Illinois, having three players average 4.10 kills per game. Glass is setting the Nittany Lions to a Big Ten-best .337 hitting percentage, also good for second in the nation, is averaging 12.97 assists per game and has five double-doubles for the year. She set a new school record with 14 blocks at Illinois.
Penn State is ranked #1 in the nation this year and opens the NCAA tournament tonight.
The Suttons Bay volleyball team captured the regional volleyball trophy for the 3rd year in a row. They beat Rogers City 25-10, 25-16, 12-25, 25-23 in the semifinal and then bounced back after losing the opener to Kingsley 20-25 to take the match 25-15, 25-13, 25-10. They take a 54-12-2 record into a Tuesday quarterfinal meeting at Kalkaska at 6 PM vs. Iron Mountain (30-1). Read Prep Volleyball Roundup: Norse claim 3rd straight region in the Record-Eagle.
The defending State Champion Leland volleyball team didn't fare quite as well. The Comets started strong with a sweep of Central Lake but fell to a tough Marion squad in 5 games. They finished with a record of 47-16-1, and you can read more and see some photos from the Record-Eagle.
In boys basketball action, the lone county team playing, Leland, crushed Traverse City Christian 80-32 to capture the district crown (RE article). The Comets play Tuesday night at 6 PM at Traverse City Central vs. #3 Bellaire.
The Traverse City Record-Eagle reports that the Leland Lady Comets captured their 9th straight district volleyball crown. They cruised over Northport 25-16, 25-13, 25-11 and powered through the final 25-13, 25-21, 25-7 over Traverse City Christian. The Comets are 47-15-1 and will move on to the Class D regionals next Saturday at TC St. Francis. Competition starts at 10 AM and Leland plays in the second match which will begin around 11 AM.
In Class C, Glen Lake fell in a tough match to Mesick 25-18, 25-19, 22-25, 25-22.
UPDATE: Contrary to what I read (or misread) Suttons Bay's spikers battled past Kalkaska 25-21, 25-10 & 25-22 in the opener and then swept Traverse City St. Francis 25-13, 25-13, 25-16 to win their third straight district title. The Norse will face Rogers City on Saturday at the Class C Regional in Gaylord (app. 11:30 AM).
Girls Volleyball
In the Class D District Draw for volleyball, Leland will play Northport in first round action starting @ 11 AM this Saturday (March 3rd). Championship match will be after the first game with the winner playing TC Christian for the District Crown.
In Class C at Kalkaska, Suttons Bay faces Kalkaska in the opening game at 10 AM.
Boys Basketball
District play for Boys Basketball will start Monday March 5th at Leland with Leland taking on Northport @ 7 PM. On Wednesday St Mary’s and TC Christian will play and Friday will be the championship game @ 7 pm.
In Class C action at Kalkaska, Suttons Bay faces Kingsley at 6 PM on March 5 and Glen Lake follows at 8 PM vs Kalkaska. If victorious, Suttons Bay would face Traverse City-St Francis and Glen Lake, Forest Area on Wednesday with finals Friday.
It isn't often we get to point to an article from ESPN in relation to Leelanau County. This very in-depth article says that when 2005 Leland graduate Alisha Glass accepted a scholarship to play volleyball for Penn State, she became part of one of the most successful programs in Division I women's volleyball. However, when she became the starting center as a freshman, she became the leader of the team and one of just 10 players have held that position on a permanent basis for the Nittany Lions.
Regarding Alisha's performance (and Penn State's 17-0 start), Penn State teammate and last year's AVCA Freshman of the Year Nicole Fawcett said:
"I was more surprised at the beginning, but now everything is starting to click and it's not a surprise anymore. When you start with a freshman setter, you never know what is going to happen. But the concerns aren't there anymore because her volleyball IQ is very good for as young as she is.
Read Glass steps up to challenge of leading No. 2 Penn State from ESPN.
Photo by ESPN.
The TC record-Eagle reports that Leland senior Alisha Glass was honored as the Michigan Female Athlete of the Year by the Detroit Athletic Club in a ceremony Monday night. The award is designed to honor both athletic performance and scholarship and has been won by such athletes as Shane Battier and Drew Henson.
Glass helped to lead Leland to the 2006 state volleyball title. She will attend (and play for) Penn State, was previously named Gatorade's volleyball Player of the Year in Michigan and Michigan's Miss Volleyball.
Read Glass is Female Athlete of the Year in the Record-Eagle
Photo courtesy LelandLadyComets.com
Leland managed to battle back from a two game deficit on Saturday against defending state champion Battle Creek St. Philip to win the final three and capture the Class D volleyball championship. The 21-25, 20-25, 25-19, 25-23, 15-9 triumph gives the Comets their fourth state title.
Leland's Alisha Glass shattered a state finals record for kills with 48 (30 was previous) and had a record 5 aces in a finals game.
Read Comets capture crown; Leland rallies to beat St. Philip for title in the TC Record-Eagle
Also see Columnist Mark Urban: Glass finally gets that elusive title
Watch Video highlights from TV 9&10 news!
Listen to Leland v. Battle Creek St. Philip from the MHSAA & EZ Stream
View the Box score from MHSAAÂ
