Kim Hill said her MVP award at FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship Italy 2014 was a win for every member of her US team
Novara, Italy, February 13, 2015 – USA’s Kimberly Hill had quite the year in 2014, winning gold and the MVP award at the FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship Italy 2014. The 25-year-old is now settling into life at Italian club Igor Gorgonzola Novara in the north of the country ahead of a crucial international season.
However, despite all her achievements, the outside hitter is still not completely comfortable with her newfound stardom on the volleyball stage.
"I do not feel like a star,” she admitted in a recent interview. “I gave everything for my country at the World Championship.
“To win was even more beautiful and being world champions is something indescribable. MVP? Thank you, but we were all the Most Valuable Player.”
As humble as she may be she has certainly made an impact at her new home. Novara currently lead the Italian League and are eager to put their semifinal loss to Piacenza in last year’s tournament behind them. Although their European aspirations may be limited to the CEV Volleyball Challenge Cup this year, she still has hopes of adding to her trophy case.
"We have the means and quality to get to the end of all the competitions in which we are engaged,” she said. “It’s bad we were eliminated from the CEV Cup, but we're redoing in the Challenge, an event which has become increasingly important for us.
“Right now we are expressing a very good volleyball. The defeats help to grow, as in life even in the games.
"I chose the Gorgonzola Igor in the summer because it believes the technical project that I had been proposed.”
Once the domestic season ends Hill will almost certainly take to the international stage for her third season in the FIVB Volleyball World Grand Prix 2015. She was picked from anonymity back in 2013, the only one of 240 athletes who participated at USA tryouts who went on to earn a starting role the same season.
Then September brings the FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Cup 2015, an event USA have qualified for. The country finished second four years ago and will be hoping to be in the top three once again to earn their place at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.