EUGENE, Ore. — Amber Kaufman isn't one of America's better-known women high jumpers.

In an event where the top American names are such seasoned competitors as Amy Acuff, Gwen Wentland and Chaunte Howard, Kaufman is best known as the right-side hitter on the University of Hawai'i volleyball team.

But look at the elite company she's keeping now.

After clearing 1.79 meters (5 feet 10 1/2 inches) and then 1.82 meters (5-11 1/2), last night at the University of Oregon's historic Hayward Field, she moved up to the 14-woman final of the USA Olympic Trials event slated for Thursday night.

After four consecutive days of action, a two-day respite has been built into the trials schedule and Kaufman will have today and tomorrow to prepare for the biggest opportunity of her track and field life.

She checked into the trials with a 2008 high jump best of 1.84 meters (6-0 3/4), and little reputation beyond being a former star in the California high school ranks and as an all-Western Athletic Conference volleyball selection.

"Let's just see what happens now," Kaufman said. "I'm still in this thing, that's all that counts."

Staying in it wasn't easy. She missed her first two attempts at 1.79 and then at 1.82 before getting up and over the bar.

Acuff, a six-time U.S. outdoor champion; Wentland, a four-time trials participant, and Howard, the 2005 world outdoor silver medalist, remain the top choices.

And Kaufman faces another problem — even if she stunned the experts by placing in the top three, she would still have to soar at least a lifetime best of 1.95 meters (6-4 1/4) to be named to the U.S. Olympic squad.

The odds are long against that happening. Then again, she's "still in this thing."