University of Minnesota Athletics
Wittman Named Co-Big Ten Player of the Week
11/7/2011 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Nov. 7, 2011
Sophomore outside hitter Ashley Wittman has been named the Co-Big Ten Player of the Week, announced today by the Big Ten Conference. It marks the second time this season Wittman has been awarded the honor and the third weekly conference honor for the Gophers this season. Her previous time followed her performance at the Marquette Challenge (Sept. 17-18). She shares the award with Purdue sophomore Ariel Turner.
Although the Gophers fell to No. 6 Penn State, Wittman posted a career-high 31 kills on Friday night. Of the 31, 12 kills came in the fourth set, forcing a deciding fifth set. She also had the match's second-highest digs with 19. In the loss, she led all attackers in kills and hit .393 with 61 attempts. She followed up with 21 kills in the win against Ohio State Saturday, again for a match high. The Shakopee, Minn., native also added her 14th double double of the season when she had 12 digs. On the weekend, Wittman hit .352, had 52 kills in 108 attempts, four assists, three aces and 31 digs.
On the season, Wittman averages a team-best 4.63 kills per set and a second-best 2.83 digs per set. This season, Wittman has 426 kills, and hitting .258. A six-rotation player, Wittman also has 260 digs, following just Gopher libero Jessica Granquist in that category. In the Big Ten, Wittman ranks second in points (5.08 per set) and kills (4.63).
