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TH E CONVERSATION ALISHA GLASS


Interview by Don Patterson • Photo: Peter Brouillet Alisha Glass, 28, has been the starting setter


for the U.S. Women’s National Team for all three major tournaments this quadrennial, including being named Best Setter at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio where Team USA won bronze. In 2014, at the FIVB World Championship, she was named Best Setter when the U.S. Women won their first gold medal at a major tournament in the history. The native of Leland, Michigan, also set the U.S. to the bronze medal at the 2015 FIVB World Cup and started on three NCAA championship teams at Penn State.


VolleyballUSA: What was your oh-my-gosh-did-you-see- who-just-walked-by moment in Rio?


A.G. We happened to be walking right be-


hind Serena Williams (at opening ceremonies). I think she’s an insanely amazing athlete, so it was cool to be breathing the same air. [Laughs]


You’ve obviously seen the photo of [USA opposite] Matt Anderson standing next to Simone Biles at the Olympics. He looked about 20 feet tall.


That’s such a cool and funny photo. I wish


I could have taken that photo because, at heart, I’m a gymnast. It’s one of the sports I watched most in the Olympics.


Now that you’ve had time to process it, what’s your take on the bronze-medal finish in Rio after the heartbreaking semifinal loss to Serbia?


I think we really enjoyed ourselves and


enjoyed the energy we created as a group. We felt like it didn’t matter if we were playing the best volleyball of our lives – if we stayed together and fought until the end, good things would come. That happened in every one of our matches but one.


Your mom [Laurie Glass] was your high school volleyball coach. Do you still talk volleyball with her?


I’ll talk things through with her, and


she’ll do the same with me because she’s still coaching. I really like that she has a passion for helping girls as people versus just trying to [teach them] volleyball. The power of sport is that you learn how to learn, learn how to develop, learn what you want out of life. When coaches give you that perspective, you can grow so much more


Your grandparents played a big role in your life, and your grandfather was your high school basketball coach.


He was a father figure for me, so we’ve had this bond since forever. He taught me about basketball and life. He and my grand- mother have been so supportive and loving. She’s the polar opposite of him as far as sports, but when I’m playing, she’s always the closest to the TV.


Your biological father wasn’t part of your childhood. How did that impact you?


It didn’t impact me, which speaks volumes about my family. I didn’t ever feel like anything was missing. My grandfather was there, and my mom and my aunts and uncles parented together, so I had a great (childhood).


Have you had any contact with your father?


He met me when I was


young, but I was really little, so I don’t remember it. I’ve had no other contact with him since.


Are you curious about him? There’s a little bit of


curiosity, but I haven’t ever picked up a phone or tried to research it just because I love my family and don’t feel like I’m missing anything. It would be cool to have someone tell me exactly what happened in his life and where he’s at, but not because I’m seeking a relationship.


Your coaches say you’re a very de- ceptive setter who gets your hitters a lot of good looks.


You have to play to your


strengths, and I’m not the most technically sound or precise setter, so I want to get my hit- ters in the best possible position to score. Once I saw that I had a knack for that, I worked to improve on it. And I was an attacker for a good amount of time (in juniors and in a 6-2 offense as a freshman at Penn State). I also played some middle blocker. I have a perspective on what hitters are thinking and what blockers are try- ing to do.


Was there ever something in volleyball that was so dif- ficult that you wondered if you’d ever get the hang of it?


It was really tricky when I first became a


setter. There were a lot of growing pains. And it was also a struggle for me to develop a good serve. I was a jump-spin server most of my life, but then [with the national team] I had to do this jump float thing, and it never really seemed to be great for me. But they stuck with me and we worked through it. It was not my strongest area, but I got to a point where I was comfortable with it.


12 | VOLLEYBALLUSA • Digital Issue at usavolleyball.org/mag


What’s a key to being a good teammate? It’s important to understand where people


are coming from and also to assume best intent. We can do a lot of speculating as to how people think and feel, but we really don’t know. I think it’s important to get to know them so you can understand why they may handle situations differently than you do. When you have that understanding, your bond will be stronger and you’ll be able to communicate more effectively


Where to from here? I’m going to take some time off to decide if I want to do something different or if I miss [volleyball] and want to come back to it. I’m at a point in my life where I maybe want to explore some options – maybe starting a fam- ily, maybe coaching. I’m just not sure. When you’re in the grind, you can’t have perspec- tive about it. I think if I take myself out of it, I’ll know whether I want to play more or do something else.


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