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Post by VolleyTX on Aug 14, 2007 12:08:03 GMT -5
To say I'm shocked and excited by Kim Glass' play for the first two weeks of the Grand Prix is a bit of an understatement. Keep in mind that this is her very first (that I'm aware of) international tournament with the Senior National Team. She wasn't even in the starting 6 for the first match, but she was inserted early in the first match when Ogonna wasn't producing.
Her first few sets against Poland were a mixed bag... moments of brilliance.... puntuated with some really stupid plays. She was visibly nervous. It is amazing to see her transformation. She and Haneef are now the go to hitters. At times when hitting, she looks like one of the Cuba hitters. She is really hitting the ball from a very high point of contract. She is the best passer so far on the team.... even passing better than the Libero Davis. She is the best server on the team so far. She is the second best blocker on the team, behind Scott.
Her rankings in select categories for the Grand Prix:
Points scored: #9 Hitting Percentage #13 Blocking #23 Serving #4 Receiving #17
Makes me wonder what happened. She played in Italy last year, but she didn't get much playing time on a mediocre team. It just seems like overnight she has found her confidence. Amazing to see such a drastic improvement in a player in such a short period of time.
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Post by hwnstunner on Aug 14, 2007 13:33:26 GMT -5
She's going to be vital ... especially if Metcalf doesn't return.
But its good to hear SOMEONE is going somewhere...
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Post by roofed! on Aug 14, 2007 13:36:52 GMT -5
Yup, Glass has been one bright spot, and a surprise too, on the national team. She is capable of playing all the way around, something that is handicapping Nnamani. She certainly has the potential, even in college, but never fully realised that. Maybe it's the training and discipline at the USOTC that is helping her to up her game a couple of notches. Hope that she stays around with the NT after this summer.
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Post by USAFAN on Aug 14, 2007 14:00:28 GMT -5
As I recall when Glass was in high school she was very highly regarded by USA volleyball and I remember reading an article in Volleyball Magazine that referred to her as the next coming of Flo Hyman. Her physicality and frame actually remind me a lot of Rosir Calderon of Cuba. Its unforunate that she perhaps didn't receive the technical training that she needed at Arizona but she has the physical stature and abilities to succeed at this level. I think its encouraging that she has performed well thus far and hope that in the following year that JLP can whip her into the kind of shape that will allow her to be a primary attacker for the USA squad.
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Post by Tiruray2004 on Aug 14, 2007 14:02:45 GMT -5
Oh, Kim Willoughby is better than her, NOT!
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Post by roy on Aug 14, 2007 14:19:02 GMT -5
While I am very happy that Glass has shown to be a strong contributor, I am cautiously optimistic. The one concern I have with Glass’s performance is that she is a relative unknown. Most teams have not seen her before and they don’t know her tendencies and how to defend against her. As she becomes more integrated in the US system, opposing teams get to know her a little more and figure out a way to get her out of system. Hopefully, this tournament was just the starting point of her contributions to the USA and she can continue to be a strong presence.
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Post by Not Me on Aug 14, 2007 14:58:52 GMT -5
"moments of brilliance.... punctuated with some really stupid plays."
Wasn't this the story of her whole career at Arizona?
she always had the physical skills, it was the consistency that was lacking in her performances.
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Post by VolleyTX on Aug 14, 2007 15:27:04 GMT -5
My comments were specifically regarding her first few sets of play. You can see from her standings in almost every category that she has been a very consistent performer over the first two weeks of play.
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Post by Matthias on Aug 14, 2007 16:05:14 GMT -5
Her physicality and frame actually remind me a lot of Rosir Calderon of Cuba. Sorry but when Calderon is in best shape (which she certainly is not at the moment) nobody compares to her! But definitely Glass has been a positive surprise for Team USA, she will make her way there for sure if she manages to keep her current form consistently!
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Post by brybry2 on Aug 14, 2007 19:14:09 GMT -5
Yeah, I'm really happy to see that Glass has stepped up for the US. We'll have to track her performance in future tournaments because she might have just had a really good Grand Prix. I definitely think she would have excelled much further in college had she had picked a different school.
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Post by USAFAN on Aug 14, 2007 20:04:39 GMT -5
Her physicality and frame actually remind me a lot of Rosir Calderon of Cuba. Sorry but when Calderon is in best shape (which she certainly is not at the moment) nobody compares to her! But definitely Glass has been a positive surprise for Team USA, she will make her way there for sure if she manages to keep her current form consistently! Well up until this point I don't think can be considered Calderon can be considered incomparable. Cuba hasn't won anything substantial with Calderon leading the way, but I was referring more to their builds than anything else. Calderon is taller for a Cuban OH and has great hops to go along with it. Glass is 6'3'' with similar jumping abilities.
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Post by ooreo46 on Aug 15, 2007 16:29:04 GMT -5
I have always said in this forum that Kim Glass belonged on the National Team. I remember watching her in college and the way how she could just pummel the ball was amazing. She is athletic, tall, and has a meeean jumper. I hope she can continue to improve her skills and knowledge of the game, then maybe become USA's go-to-hitter in tight situations. It would be awesome to have Haneef and Glass pummeling away on the left and right side.
Kind of off subject, but I think if Glass was healthy in '04, Hawaii would have lost to Arizona in the match they played early in the season (it was in a tourney, I forget which one). Hawaii won in five. If she played, it would've been a sweep for Arizona.
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Post by Wolfgang on Aug 15, 2007 16:56:11 GMT -5
I'm waiting for someone to break into "Glass half-full, Glass half-empty" song.
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