Occasionally we stray from writing just about men’s hockey — especially during a week the Gophers don’t play. How can they be off and I am not?

In this post, we look at volleyball. prepvolleyball.com considers two in-state juniors, both of whom have committed to the U, as candidates for the National Junior of the Year.

Here is what the web site says about each:

Tori Dixon, 6-3 MB, Burnsville (MN) – A Minnesota recruit and U.S. Youth National Team member, Dixon earned First Team All Metro and First Team All State honors after leading Burnsville with 405 kills and 86 blocks. A powerful net presence, her straight down attacks are coming to be known as “Macing the Dixon Line.”

Ashley Wittman, 6-1 OH, Shakopee (MN) — Named Metro Player of the Year in a landslide by both the Star Tribune and Pioneer Press BEFORE the state championships, Wittman led the Sabers to a second consecutive state title in the 3A class. She led the state with 655 kills while adding 434 digs and 56 blocks and was at her very best at state. She had a combined 45 kills and 30 digs in six sets in two preliminary matches, then had 32 kills and 28 digs in a four-set finals win over Eastview. Wittman was a member of the US Youth National Team over the summer and has committed to Minnesota.

Another state girl is a candidate for Senior Setter of the Year. She is going to Michigan, Gophers coach Mike Hebert can’t get them all:

Catherine Yager, 6-0, St. Michael Albertville (Albertville MN) – First Team All State and a member of the All State Tournament team, Yager helped lead St. Michael Albertville to the state tournament for the first time, where it placed third, and to the best record in school history at 29-3. The Michigan recruit finished the year with 854 assists.

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 22nd, 2009 at 7:45 pm and is filed under Gophers volleyball. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.