University of Minnesota Athletics
Four Gopher Alums Land a Spot on USA Volleyball's VNL Roster
5/13/2019 7:17:00 PM | Volleyball
The University of Minnesota will be well represented on the United States' Volleyball Nations League roster, announced today by USA Volleyball. Gopher Volleyball alumnae Tori Dixon, Lauren Gibbemeyer, Hannah Tapp and Sarah Wilhite Parsons will be competing with Team USA this summer.
The U.S. Women hosts No. 9 Korea on June 4, No. 13 Germany on June 5 and No. 4 Brazil on June 6 in Lincoln, Neb., at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Each country can designate 14 players from the 25-player roster to compete in each preliminary week and the Final Six. Rosters can change each week upon discretion of the coaching staff.
Minnesota's four alums tie the most from a single program, with Penn State as the other program with four. It marks the second-straight year Dixon, Gibbemeyer and Wilhite Parsons have been named to the Volleyball Nations League roster and the first for Tapp. Dixon was also named the 2018 FIVB Volleyball Nations League Best Blocker as Team USA won gold. All four have completed their professional season, most recently Wilhite Parsons, who helped Stuttgart win the German championship last week.
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The VNL, a 16-country league for both genders, includes 15 pool play matches for each country spread over five consecutive weeks with four pods of four teams competing in round-robin action every week. The top five teams from the preliminary round will compete in the VNL Final Six along with host China from July 3-7 with the winner receiving $1 million.
During their Gopher careers, all four were named All-Americans. Wilhite Parsons was named the AVCA National and Big Ten Player of the Year as a senior (2016), while Tapp garnered back-to-back All-America honors her senior and junior seasons (2015 and 2016). Dixon was a two-time All-American for the Gophers (2012, 2013) and still holds Minnesota's best career hitting efficiency at .369. Gibbemeyer was a two-time AVCA All-American (2008, 2009) and still holds the school record with 591 career blocks.
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The U.S. Women hosts No. 9 Korea on June 4, No. 13 Germany on June 5 and No. 4 Brazil on June 6 in Lincoln, Neb., at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Each country can designate 14 players from the 25-player roster to compete in each preliminary week and the Final Six. Rosters can change each week upon discretion of the coaching staff.
Minnesota's four alums tie the most from a single program, with Penn State as the other program with four. It marks the second-straight year Dixon, Gibbemeyer and Wilhite Parsons have been named to the Volleyball Nations League roster and the first for Tapp. Dixon was also named the 2018 FIVB Volleyball Nations League Best Blocker as Team USA won gold. All four have completed their professional season, most recently Wilhite Parsons, who helped Stuttgart win the German championship last week.
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The VNL, a 16-country league for both genders, includes 15 pool play matches for each country spread over five consecutive weeks with four pods of four teams competing in round-robin action every week. The top five teams from the preliminary round will compete in the VNL Final Six along with host China from July 3-7 with the winner receiving $1 million.
During their Gopher careers, all four were named All-Americans. Wilhite Parsons was named the AVCA National and Big Ten Player of the Year as a senior (2016), while Tapp garnered back-to-back All-America honors her senior and junior seasons (2015 and 2016). Dixon was a two-time All-American for the Gophers (2012, 2013) and still holds Minnesota's best career hitting efficiency at .369. Gibbemeyer was a two-time AVCA All-American (2008, 2009) and still holds the school record with 591 career blocks.
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