Former Conestoga Valley volleyball standout Kim Glass is hoping to play for Team U.S.A. in Beijing next month. She’ll find out if she made it this week.

It looks like former CV star Kim Glass is extremely close to locking up a spot on the U.S. women’s volleyball team, which will compete in the Olympics next month in Beijing. Our sports editor, Keith Schweigert, communicated with Glass via email recently, and she sounds awfully excited about her chances of representing the U.S. Here’s Keith’s story from Monday’s New Era:

Kim Glass hasn’t gotten the official word yet.

But barring any unforseen change in circumstances, she should probably start packing for Beijing.

The 23-year-old Conestoga Valley grad will likely find out later this week that she is one of the 12 players on the U.S. women’s volleyball team roster that will head to China next month for the 2008 Summer Olympics.

According to Bill Kauffman, the team’s media relations director, the official decision won’t be released until later this week, after it is approved by the U.S. Olympic Committee.

Glass and her teammates are headed back home after competing in the final round of the World Grand Prix tournament in Yokohama, Japan.

The U.S. team finished fourth in the round-robin event, which featured six of the world’s top 10 teams ranked by the FIVB.

Contacted by email late last week, Glass said she felt confident that she would be one of the 12 players selected for the Games.

“As long as I continue to play my role and stay healthy, I believe my chances of making the roster are high,” she said.

If she is included on the team, Glass will become the second Lancaster County native to earn a trip to the Games,  joining Cocalico grad Dana Sensenig, a member of the U.S. women’s field hockey team.

It would be the second time that Lancaster County has sent two athletes to the same Olympic Games.

Sam Bigler (weightlifting) and William Beldon (rowing) competed together in the 1976 Games in Munich.

Glass seems to understand the significance of competing in the Games.

“It’s been a goal of mine, since I was younger,” she said in her email. “I grew up in the U.S.A. system, watching the national team train, my idols, of course you want to be in their shoes.

“Now I get to wear the flag on my chest, representing the best in the country. That’s an incredible feeling, and I don’t even know if I’ve made the team yet. Listening to our anthem before each game and looking at our flag is absolutely amazing. I’m stoked, and just want to represent U.S.A. to the best of my ability.”

Glass has good reason to be confident. She started at least two games in four of the team’s five matches, racking up 25 kills, five blocks and three service aces.

The 6-foot, 2-inch Glass plays outside hitter. She has significant international experience with the U.S. team, helping it qualify for the Games last November with a third-place finish in the FIVB World Cup in Russia.

She also played with the U.S. Junior Team in 2001 and 2002, and has professional experience in Puerto Rico and Turkey.

In her four-year career at the University of Arizona, Glass set school records in kills (2,151) and aces (162) and was a three-time All-American.

The U.S. team used the World Grand Prix as an Olympic tuneup. Glass and her teammates knew that coaches were also using it to evaluate them and make the final roster cuts.

But she said she refused to spend much time dwelling on that.

“I (told) myself, it’s just another game we have to play,” she said. “You play volleyball every day. Adding all that extra pressure is just mind traffic that no one needs. Since I was young, I’ve gotten butterflies before every game, but it changes as soon as I step on the court.”

The U.S. team went 9-5 in the Grand Prix, including a 2-3 record in the final round-robin portion last week. All six of the teams in the final round qualified for the Olympics, so it was a good tuneup.

The U.S. team is ranked fourth in the world by the FIVB. Top-ranked Brazil won the Grand Prix with a 5-0 record, while third-ranked Italy took the silver and second-ranked Cuba settled for bronze.

“(The tournament) served its purpose for us,” Glass said. “We were looking to progress every day in practice, grow together with so many players coming in and out (of the lineup), learn how to adjust and show some resilience to adversity. We also got more familiar with the teams we’ll see in Beijing.”

The U.S. team will compete in Pool A at the Olympics, along with Japan, Venezuela, Poland, Cuba and China.

China is ranked sixth in the world, while Japan is eighth and Poland is ninth. Venezuela is the only team in the pool not ranked in the world’s top 10.

Pool B consists of No. 21 Algeria, No. 7 Serbia, Italy, No. 5 Russia, No. 16 Kazakhstan and Brazil.

“I believe the only team that can beat us at the Olympics is the U.S.A.,” Glass said in her email. “We focus on these teams tactically, but in the end, it’s about us. We can beat ourselves, or we can make it easier for ourselves. Honestly, on any given day any of these teams can win, but of course I think we are the best. Why wouldn’t I?”

And what does she think the U.S.A.’s chances are of winning it all?

“We wouldn’t be going to the Olympics if we didn’t have a high chance of bringing home the gold,” Glass said.