Walking on campus in the laid-back summer months here, Christa Harmotto had some questions on her mind.

With all of the big-name recruits matriculating into the Penn State women's volleyball program and an all-everything setter departed, how exactly will things work out? Who will step up?

At the time, she happened to be strolling with newcomer Alisha Glass, who was just the person who might have some answers.

Harmotto knew that Glass was a force from the right side, a powerful hitter in high school, but what did Glass think about being used as a setter?

"She said, 'Hey, I want to run the offense. I want to be the 5-1 [system] setter. I want to lead,' " Harmotto said, recalling their conversation.

And so far, Glass has not let her down. For the second weekend in a row, Glass turned out a superb effort in directing the No. 2 Nittany Lions' attack and has again earned recognition for her efforts.

Thanks to a nice weekend at home in the Penn State Classic, Glass was named tournament MVP. And last weekend in the Texas Invitational in Austin, Glass stepped to the forefront and earned National Player of the Week honors -- making her the first Penn State freshman and third player ever to receive the honor.

The last Penn State women's volleyball player to garner the national honor? All-everything setter Sam Tortorello.

Against No. 5 Texas, in undoubtedly the biggest collegiate match she's played thus far, Glass not only performed well but also turned out career numbers.

In the five-game, come-from-behind victory, she tallied 63 assists and worked the ball around nicely, as four hitters finished with double-digit kills, two finishing with more than 20 kills. A performance that wasn't exactly startling to Penn State head coach Russ Rose.

"I'm not surprised that Alisha's doing well," Rose said, "because I thought that Alisha was an incredibly talented, multifaceted player in that she can both hit and set."

This weekend she continued forward. Though the Lions weren't up against top-ranked teams, at times her ability to work the ball pleased Rose, who thought she did a particularly nice job against Miami (Ohio) on Saturday night.

Since settling into the setter's role, her play has actually helped ease the transition for some fellow freshmen.

"I think Alisha's a lot more confident than she was in the beginning of the season," freshman outside hitter Megan Hodge said. "And I think that confidence in herself kind of builds our confidence in her. She knows what she's doing and we can see that. ... It just takes our mind off of the setter and the second contact and we can just focus on hitting and passing and defense."

Confidence seems to have bred other results, too. Harmotto said that she thinks Glass has "really stepped up as far as her leadership goes."

Though Glass, along with Hodge, have both already stepped up in big spots, down the stretch they will be critical. Relying heavily on them, Rose said he will need them to continue with the monster output if anything will be accomplished this year.

"I think the freshmen are making good progress," Rose said. "We'll be as good as their transition is to college volleyball."