One of our new favorite players from Team USA!
In this article released by cev.lu, the outside hitter shares a lot about her life in Poland where she plays for one of the top teams, Atom Sopot.
Here you go…
“Before I came to Poland I did not know much about this country. I just knew that it is very cold here and there would be a lot of countryside with not much to do but I have been pleasantly surprised” says the US American wing-spiker of Atom Trefl SOPOT, Kimberly Hill.
“The city I’m in is actually very, very beautiful and there are lots of great restaurants and things to do, and lots of people speak English!” Hill continues.
The US American player joined Atom Trefl for this season however before travelling to Sopot, she performed well with Team USA last summer.
“Last year was such an amazing experience with the national team. Playing with and against some of the best players in the world helped me learn so much about the game of Volleyball, not to mention meeting some really great friends in the process” she says.
Now she has to compete with very strong players on her position – Serbian-born Brizitka Molnar, Belgium’s Charlotte Leys or home heroine Klaudia Kaczorowska. All of these players are part of their respective national teams and have got different nationalities. How does she feel competing with them for a place in the starting line-up?
“I think it just shows how deep our team is, I think our coach could substitute anyone in and the level of play wouldn’t go down at all. Having such great competition among wing-spikers just means we are helping each other get better and better” Hill admits.
It was also the very first season for Hill in the CEV Volleyball Champions League. Sadly, Atom Trefl has already finished their adventure after losing twice in the Playoffs 12 to Eczacibasi VitrA ISTANBUL, so the team mentored by Teun Buijs can be totally focused on the national league now. However, Hill was the one who showed a superb performance in the last match with Eczacibasi.
“I think probably the biggest difference was simply that we have not been playing together as a team as long as the Turkish teams have been. We proved we can compete with them, but playing together longer allows a team to function more smoothly, and sometimes it’s those little plays that make the difference” she explains.
Now, the members of the team have their sight set on very important games in the national league. “I think we are in a good position going into the Playoffs. We have lost a few matches we probably could have won but we are still growing as a team and feeling strong for this part of the season” says Hill. “On the other hand, we have seen many times this year that anyone can beat anyone. The Polish league is at such a high level that we must always bring our best game to each match. There are going to be no easy matches during the Playoffs so there definitely could be some surprises” adds Hill.
Some people say that Chemik POLICE is going to win the league this season, nevertheless it was Atom Trefl SOPOT who broke the winning streak of Chemik. “We have proven that we can beat Chemik, along with the rest of the Polish teams. So if we play well we definitely can win the league” she concludes.
images: cev.lu/ FIVB
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