TRAVERSE CITY -- Alisha Glass will have little down time this summer.
Glass, and her Penn State teammates, depart for Brazil in May once school is out for two weeks of international volleyball competition.
In June, the All-American will return home and work as an instructor at the Northwest Michigan Girls Volleyball Camp at Leland High School.
Soon after, she'll return to Penn State to work more camps.
And, sometime this summer, the national champion Nittany Lions will receive a White House invite for a ceremony with President Barack Obama.
In the meantime, Penn State is in its spring season, trying to put the pieces together for a run at a third consecutive NCAA title.
"We're very excited," Glass said. "We're working hard this spring and we're excited about the new kids coming in. A lot of things are up for grabs and I think that's making everyone work harder. Competition makes us all better."
The Nittany Lions went 38-0 last season -- only the fourth team in Division I women's volleyball to finish a season unbeaten.
In addition to Glass, who was on the NCAA all-tournament team last season, the Nittany Lions return Megan Hodge, the tournament's most outstanding player; hitters Blair Bell and Arielle Wilson; and defensive standout Alyssa D'Enrico.
"Megan and I have been playing together for a long time," said Glass, who will be a senior setter in the fall. "And Blair is really, really good right now. We definitely have a good core."
Penn State is currently riding a 64-match winning streak, which is an NCAA record. The Nittany Lions were so dominant last season they lost just two games.
"It was definitely a long season," Glass said. "When we were going through it, there was talk, 'Can we do it again?' Looking back on it now, it was definitely quite a feat."
She said it hit home when the team posed for pictures after beating Stanford 3-0 in the final.
"When we were taking pictures everyone was holding up No. 1," she said. "The photographer said, 'Hold up two (fingers) because you just won back-to-back championships. It was just like one of those moments, 'Wow, we really did it. We just won two national championships.'"
Glass, a kinesiology major with a minor in human development and family studies, plans to take a break from her studies this summer.
"I've taken classes every summer since I've been here, starting the summer before my freshman year," she said. "I'm looking forward to the break."
She's also looking forward to spending time at home and working the camp in Leland.
"I work camps all summer, but I'm excited about this one because I know some of the kids and I'm familiar (with some of the families)," she said. "I think you can really have an impact when you know the kids rather than just meeting them for the first time."
The individual camp runs from June 23-25. The team camp follows June 26-27. There will be separate sessions for middle school and high school players. Brochures are available at area schools. For more information contact Laurie Glass at 256-2205.
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