Junior outside hitter Natalie Glenn racked up 31 kills in two conference games over the weekend, including a career-high 21 kills in Friday night’s win over Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
“Early in the season, I’ve kind of been struggling, so that was good to see all the stuff I’ve been working at in practice click together during a match,” Glenn said.
Clicking is an understatement. In Glenn’s last three games, she has totaled 47 kills, which is 17 more than she had in her first 6 games combined.
Her recent hot streak has her third on the team in kills.
“My teammates pushing and believing in me every single day, and of course, my coaches pushing me to my limit and even over my limit,” she said.
Glenn was a very highly-ranked recruit out of Southlake, Texas, being named to two MaxPreps’ All-American teams in her time at Carroll High School.
Long Beach State head coach Tyler Hildebrand said that he has had his eye on her since 2017 when he was an assistant coach at Nebraska when Glenn was only a freshman in high school.
“I spent more time watching her than anyone else in that class,” Hildebrand said.
Hildebrand’s sister called him and told him that Glenn had entered the transfer portal, and within three days she was in Long Beach for an official visit.
Glenn is in her second year at The Beach since transferring from the University of Minnesota. She wanted to come to a program where she could play both indoor and beach volleyball, and The Beach was “a no-brainer” for Glenn.
Playing beach has helped Glenn with conditioning and ball control since there’s two people on the court. So, you have to “pick certain shots and you have to be able to see the court and use your vision,” said Glenn.
To play two sports, you have to have a love for competing. Luckily, growing up in a football household shaped Glenn’s competitiveness.
Her late father, Terry Glenn, played 11 years in the NFL for the Patriots, Packers and Cowboys. In his rookie year with the Patriots, he won a Super Bowl and was named to a Pro Bowl team.
“Growing up my dad was hard on us… He did teach us about that competitive mindset and that it’s ok to make errors and mess up,” said Glenn.
All of her siblings play sports as with her brother playing football and her two sisters playing volleyball as well.
She wears number 83, the number her late father wore at Ohio State and on the Cowboys and Packers.
“Natalie’s really starting to remember how good she is,” Hildebrand said.
Glenn looks to continue to be a big part of a Beach team that is battling for a Big West conference title.