Kim Glass is shattering so many school volleyball records that it seems she can't go a week without breaking one.
Actually, for the second week in a row, she should break one - well, a lot more than one.
With 545 kills so far this year, the sophomore outside hitter's own school record for kills in a season, 556, is very much within reach this weekend with a pair of matches. Last weekend, after recording a season-low seven kills against Oregon, Glass rebounded to tally 28 kills against Oregon State the following night. It marked her 15th match this season with 20 or more kills - a school record.
Of course, the new second place is Glass' 2002 mark. The highest pre-Glass mark is 10 by Barb Bell and Terry Launcher.
"That's pretty significant, to put those kind of numbers together," said UA head coach Dave Rubio about Glass' latest record.
Another record should fall this weekend, as Glass, the American Volleyball Coaches' Association freshman of the year in 2002, needs only one match with 20 or more kills to move into a tie for the most all-time in a single season.
"I think Kim is awesome," said sophomore outside hitter Jennifer Abernathy, Glass' best friend and roommate. "No matter how good she is now, she's always been consistently getting better. She's just a great all-around player."
The school record for matches with 10-plus kills in a season could also fall this week. With 26 already, Glass is two behind the record and one behind her 27 last year. She has 53 10-plus-kill matches in her career, which puts her eighth in Wildcat history.
With 1,101 career kills, Glass could also pass associate UA head coach Rita Johnson this weekend for seventh place in career kills. The most is 1,859 by Bell.
Glass also needs just two service aces to pass her 2002 seventh-place mark of aces in a season (44), and needs three to move into the career top 10.
Earlier this season, Glass became the fastest UA player to reach 1,000 kills in a career by 11 matches - the second fastest player in Pacific 10 Conference history. Former UCLA All-American Kristee Porter is the fastest, as she reached the 1,000 mark four matches sooner.
"I really don't think about our players in terms of statistical areas, but I think it's a pretty remarkable feat considering only one player in the Pac-10 got to 1,000 kills faster," Rubio said.
Earlier this season, Glass, who Abernathy says is obsessed with Pizza Hut, was in the zone. She tallied 30 kills in a three-game sweep over Oregon State. Only one other Division 1 player has accomplished that feat in a three-game match. In the process, she also broke her own school record for kills in a three-game match (28).
"There is no limit to her potential," Abernathy said. "Every single time she plays, she gets much better. She can go as far as she wants to in volleyball."
Glass has had three matches with 30 kills, one behind the school record set by Melissa McLinden in four years of play.
Rubio said the Lancaster, Penn. native is already one of the nation's best.
"I think she's one of the top seven, top eight players in the country right now," Rubio said. "I don't think there are too many volleyball players out there that are as talented as she is."
Should Glass average five-plus kills per game, she will break her own record for kills per game of 4.96 from last year. Glass has been averaging over 5.5.
Rubio attributed her string of broken records to her amazing athletic ability. Glass can touch 10-feet-3-inches high - Rubio said the standard that separates elite players from the rest is 10 feet- while the net is 7-feet-4-inches high.
"That just shows you what kind of athlete she is. She's a very gifted young lady," Rubio said.
When asked if she had any stories about Glass - like when she spiked the ball into a player's face against No. 2 Hawaii and knocked her over - Abernathy said that was hardly the first time.
"Sometimes when we're not playing well or we're losing or something, I say, 'Kim, hit that girl in the face,' and she'll be like, 'OK,' and she usually almost always gets it. But we're not evil like that," Abernathy said, laughing.
Rubio thinks the duo, which starts side-by-side on the left side of the court and wears black sweatbands featuring the logo for the '80s cartoon show "Thundercats," has sky-high potential. A couple of weeks ago, Abernathy was named national player of the week.
"I think it is what (Glass) wants it to be," Rubio said. "She and Jennifer both have such promising futures in front of them. They could be two of the best left-side hitters in the country. I think they're pretty close right now as sophomores, but I think there is still a lot of room to grow for both players."