Dixon named to U-20 Junior National Team, will play in World Championships

By Andy Brown
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Updated: July 10, 2019

Andy Brown / Louisburg Sports Zone

Louisburg High School graduate, and Kansas State freshman, Anna Dixon was recently selected to the Junior National Team and will represent Team USA in the World Championships in Mexico.

Anna Dixon hasn’t officially played in her first collegiate match with Kansas State yet, but Dixon has spent this summer traveling all over the world honing her volleyball skills.

Earlier this week, the Louisburg High School graduate received even more good news.

Dixon was selected to the Under 20 Junior National Team that will compete in the World Championships in Mexico later this week. Dixon will represent Team USA as she will go up against some of the best the world has to offer.

“It is a huge honor to make the Junior National Team,” Dixon said. “It has been a goal of mine since I started playing volleyball competitively, so accomplishing that goal was an amazing feeling. I’m very excited to compete for a gold medal in Mexico. We have some tough competition, but it will be a wonderful experience and I can’t wait.”

Dixon and Team USA will begin pool play on July 12 against Mexico, then follow it up with matches against Italy and Cuba to complete action. The national team will be led by University of Texas head coach, Jerritt Elliott.

Dixon was one of 20 players invited to train in Colorado Springs earlier this month for the Junior National Team and the roster was eventually whittled down to 12. Those 12 will participate in the 2019 FIVB Women’s U20 World Championship July 12-21 in Léon Guanajuato & Aguascalientes, Mexico. The U.S. qualified for the World Championship by winning the 2018 NORCECA Women’s U20 Continental Championship.

Hosts Mexico will be up against USA, Italy and Cuba in Pool A, while reigning WU-20 champions China will take on Poland, Egypt and Peru in Pool B. Pool C includes 2017 runners-up Russia, Turkey, Argentina and Serbia. The last edition of the competition’s bronze medallists Japan are in Pool D with Brazil, who with six titles have won the competition more than any other nation, the Dominican Republic and Rwanda.

In June, Dixon traveled with the Kansas State volleyball team to Brazil where they trained with the Brazilian U20 National team and also played several exhibition matches. Brazil is considered one of the best countries in the world for volleyball as it won Olympic gold medals in 2008 and 2012.

Dixon was also chosen to train with the Collegiate National Team in Anaheim, Calif.

“My experience is Brazil was incredible,” Dixon said. “Not just getting to play against different teams there, but actually building relationships down there and getting to understand and respect their culture.”

When the hectic summer for Dixon has finally ended, she knows she will be ready when her collegiate season gets underway in the fall.

“I feel like my experiences over the summer has pushed me to grow as a player and a person, tremendously,” Dixon said. “Seeing high level competition that resembles the Big 12 play gave me an idea of what to expect going into my college career and made me more prepared. I’m very excited to see what our team can do in the fall.”