Dec. 14, 2011
AVCA All-Americans
University of Minnesota volleyball standout Ashley Wittman (Shakopee, Minn.) received second-team All-America honors, while Tori Dixon (Burnsville, Minn.) was an All-America honorable mention, announced Dec. 14 by the American Volleyball Coaches Association. It is the first honor for each of the sophomores. Wittman and Dixon's All-America awards mark the eighth time in the past 10 years a Golden Gopher has received All-America status and the 20th and 21st honor in school history.
Wittman, a 6-foot-0 inch outside hitter, was also a named to the Mideast All-Region team as well as an All-Big Ten selection. In just two seasons with the Maroon and Gold, Wittman has already established 998 career kills, trailing only Nicole Branagh in kills after two seasons of play. The sophomore led the team and ranked second in the Big Ten Conference in kills (556) and points (607.5) in 1,391 total attempts. In conference action alone, Wittman averaged 4.39 kills per set and 4.76 points per set, trailing only Big Ten Player of the Year Ariel Turner in both categories. A six-rotation player, Wittman saw action in every set this season (124), and also ranked third on the team in digs (335), blocks (59) and aces (18). During non-conference tournament play, Wittman was a three-time All-Tournament selection, including the Most Valuable Player for the Northern Iowa Tournament and the Marquette Challenge. Following the Penn State and Ohio State weekend, Nov. 4-5, Wittman achieved her second weekly conference honors when she had 52 kills, including a career-high 31 against Penn State. Prior to her sophomore season, she was also named to the Preseason All-Big Ten list.
Like Wittman, Dixon, a 6-3 middle blocker, received All-Big Ten and All-Mideast honors this season.
Dixon finished the season with 334 kills, a .342 hitting percentage and 426.5 points, which all ranked second on the team. In conference action alone, Dixon hit .333 ranking third overall. She led the team with 37 aces, which ranked sixth overall in the Big Ten. To open her sophomore season, Dixon hit .410 and had a career-high 22 kills against Southern Cal. In the Texas matches, Dixon had 21 kills and eight aces and hit over .444 in both matches, while posting a career-best .667 against Illinois (10/29) and Wisconsin (11/23). An all-tournament selection at Northern Iowa, she had seven blocks and nine kills. Dixon was also named to the Preseason All-Big Ten team after she received All-Big Ten honorable mention as a rookie.
AVCA/NCAA All-America (team)
2011 Ashley Wittman (2)
Tori Dixon (HM)
2009 Lauren Gibbemeyer (1)
Taylor Carico (3)
2008 Brook Dieter (2)
Lauren Gibbemeyer (3)
2006 Meredith Nelson (2)
Malama Peniata (HM)
2005 Paula Gentil (HM)
2004 Kelly Bowman (1)
Paula Gentil (1)
Erin Martin (HM)
2003 Cassie Busse (1)
Paula Gentil (2)
2002 Cassie Busse (2)
Paula Gentil (3)
2000 Nicole Branagh (2)
Stephanie Hagen (2)
1999 Nicole Branagh (2)
1996 Katrien DeDecker (1)
1982 Jill Halsted (HM)
