Former Shakopee standout Is Having Golden Season For the Gophers

Former Shakopee standout and current sophomore outside hitter Ashley Wittman was named All-Big Ten as a freshman. The scary thing for opposing volleyball teams is that Wittman is even better this season.

Wittman was named the Big Ten Conference's Player of the Week this week for the second time in her career. She helped lead the No. 9 Golden Gophers to a tournament win last weekend at the Marquette Challenge. She was named MVP honors and the third tournament that she was named to the all-tournament team (AVCA Showcase, UNI Tournament-MVP and Marquette Challenge-MVP).

The Gophers have played a tough non-conference schedule that included nationally ranked teams like USC, Oregon and Texas. Wittman feels that playing the nation’s best is only going to help the Golden Gophers get ready for the Big Ten season and hopefully another run at the NCAA Final Four.

“It definitely get us ready,” said Wittman. “Playing top teams can only benefit us in the long run because if we are playing teams that aren’t giving us any competition and we just walk all over them, then how is that helping us get better for our Big Ten season? Playing these teams will help us understand what we need to work on, what we are doing well and how we need to improve in practices or what our weaknesses are, to get better at them. I think that it definitely helps.”

Wittman had high hopes for this season, but admits she is pleased with the team’s excellent start

“Very pleased,” said Wittman. “We worked so hard in the spring, this summer and preseason. Everyone was there all the time, working their butts off and it’s paid off. We beat some really good teams. We went to five games with (nation power) USC, which is really good. I think that the team is playing really well and I am proud of us. We can only get better because we know our weaknesses after every match and we continue to get better. I am just excited to what we can do in a couple of weeks.

Long-time head coach Mike Hebert retired after leading the Gophers to the third round of the NCAA Tournament and interim head coach Laura Bush is coaching the team this season. Hugh McCutheon, the U.S. Olympic Women’s Volley Coach, will take over for the 2012 season after the London Olympics. Despite the big changes, Wittman admits that the transition has been easier than expected. 

“It has definitely been smoother now that we had Hugh come in the spring,” said Wittman. “We had all three of our coaches in the spring. That was the harder part, but now going into the summer and preseason, it has been really smooth. It has been great. They (the coaches) are always in our ear, telling us what we need to do. They are always there helping and I really don’t think it could have gone any smoother than it has this preseason.”

Wittman has shown improvement in all areas of her game this season. She said that she worked to improve herself as a player.

“I think I learned to be a better teammate,” said Wittman. “Coming to my team and not just play individually. I have also worked on my defense and my passing. I have learned to have more range with my hitting, so that I am not just trying to hit straight down every time. I am able to hit different angles, down the line and high off the hands. I think that has helped me, too.”

The Gopher volleyball team is loaded with Minnesota natives. Wittman believes that having so many familiar players has helped them as a team

“I think it helps a ton,” said Wittman. “We know all these girls. We’ve been friends with them for a couple of years. We played with some of them and against some of them and just having that friendship and chemistry before we came to college, just made us stronger. When we came in, now that we know each other, it is even better, because we are more friends than we were in the past.”

Volleyball is a big part of Wittman’s life, but she also likes just being a student at Minnesota. 

“It has been great,” said Wittman. “I love the campus. I love my classes. I enjoy everything about the U of M.  Having volleyball just keeps me busy, but everything else is going great for me.”
 
Wittman is hoping to get back home to catch a couple of Sabers’ volleyball matches this season.

“It was definitely tough to get to most of the games, because our practices go pretty late and I also have night classes,” said Wittman. “But, I am definitely going to try to make it a Thursday match to watch Shakopee.

Wittman helped lead the Sabers to three straight Class 3A titles and was a two-time Gatorade Minnesota Volleyball Player of the Year, She was named two-time Minneapolis Star Tribune Player of the Year and led the Sabers to a 32-0 mark as a senior. Wittman has plenty of top memories for her high school career.

“One of my highlights is my sophomore year winning, because that was the first time that we won state and just seeing the looks on the senior’s faces and how thrilled they were and being a big part of that as a sophomore was great,” said Wittman. “Having won three years in a row. I think the senior one stands out even though it was our third one, just because it was my senior year. Just having all the Shakopee fans there. The whole town was there and it was a great feeling. I remember it really well.”

Wittman is hoping that her sophomore season in college will end with just as many big memories.