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

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.”