University of Minnesota Athletics
Gopher Alum Makes History with Team USA
10/19/2014 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
After ending her college career as a first team All-American for the Minnesota Gophers in 2013, middle blocker Tori Dixon now has her sights set on rewriting history with Team USA.
In order to do so, she hasn't slowed down after dominating with the Gophers. Within this past year, Dixon competed with Rabita Baku in Azerbaijan, then with USA Volleyball in the spring and summer.
The FIVB World Championship in Milan came to an end on Oct. 12 with a monumental gold medal for Dixon and the rest of Team USA. This gold medal marks the first for Team USA in any of the three major women's volleyball international events: Olympics, World Cup or World Championships.
As the youngest player on the team, only about a month behind former University of Nebraska player Kelsey Robinson, Dixon was unaware that the team had never won a gold medal until the middle of the tournament.
"Being a part of [the win] was awesome," Dixon said. "We had a good group of girls playing the right way and working as a team in the right way."
Even though she was the youngest player, Dixon felt welcomed into the team thanks to the veterans. They made the transition to international play as smooth as possible.
"We just kind of showed up and play volleyball," Dixon said of Robinson and herself. "Obviously we don't know the ropes of the tournament structure and everything else, so everyone makes it easy for us to be a little naïve, go out there and just do our thing."
During the summer, Dixon played a few international tournaments but none on this scale. Everything was bigger, including the crowd and the venue. Even though she had been to this level before, in the end, the outcome is unpredictable.
"Once you get to that stage, it doesn't matter how much international experience you have," Dixon said. "Anyone can beat anyone."
With one gold medal to her name, Dixon is headed back to Azerbaijan to compete with Rabita Baku for a second season. As a team that is considered one of Europe's elite, Dixon felt honored to be chosen by them right out of college.
With multiple offers and factors to think about, however, it was Minnesota coach Hugh McCutcheon who helped her make that final decision to pack up for Azerbaijan.
"He obviously knows almost anything and everything there is to know about volleyball," Dixon said with a laugh. "He helped me choose a contract, even talked to my agent and told him what exactly I wanted. He's always been a mentor."
For Dixon, Azerbaijan is a stepping stone to her long-term goals.
"The overall goal is to help USA win the Olympics and some major titles. Everything I'm doing is for that."
