Indiana University Athletics
Two To Join Hoosier Volleyball Program
2/12/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Feb. 12, 2007
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Indiana head coach Sherry Dunbar and the Indiana University volleyball program have announced the signing of Taylor Wittmer (Loogootee, Ind./Loogootee) and Ashley Benson (Bloomington, Ind./North) for the 2007-08 academic year.
"I'm really excited about Ashley and Taylor joining the program," Dunbar said. "I think a priority for us as a staff is to keep the best players in Indiana, and we've been working really hard on recruiting the last three weeks that we've been here, just going out to all of the club practices and building relationships. To have two Indiana kids, the type of quality players and student-athletes they are, coming to IU, and with them having the ability to be impact players right away, is going to help our program take a big step forward."
Wittmer, a 6-1 middle blocker/outside hitter, earned All-America honors from PrepVolleyball.com following her senior season at Loogootee. A three-time team most valuable player, Wittmer was also named the Washington Times Herald Player of the Year following her sophomore, junior and senior seasons. During her freshman season, she set a new school record for kills in a season and then broke that mark in each of the following three years. All told, Wittmer wrapped up her career at Loogootee with eight school records in her name.
With her team finishing as Indiana Class A runner-up twice, in her junior and senior seasons, and winning the Class A sectional following her sophomore year, Wittmer also earned numerous awards for her play across the state. She was a four-time Blue Chip All-Conference honoree, earned IHSVC Class A All-State Honorable Mention as a freshman and a sophomore, and wrapped up her career with ICGSA Class A All-State honors as a sophomore, junior and senior. In addition, Wittmer earned the IHSAA Mental Attitude Award for Class A following her final season at Loogootee and was also named an ICGSA Class A South All-Star for her play that year. Wittmer played for the Evansville River City Club, finished fourth at the High Performance Championships with the 2005 Hoosier Region High Performance Team and spent two seasons with the Hoosierland Volleyball Club.
Benson will join the Hoosier program after earning three varsity letters at Bloomington North. An all-conference honoree in both 2005 and 2006, she also earned Top Blocker laurels in 2005 and was the team Most Valuable Player in 2006. The 6-3 middle blocker was ranked No. 18 in the nation by volleyball expert John Tawa following her senior season. Also a member of the Hoosierland Volleyball Club, Benson placed 13th at Nationals in the American Division as a member of the 18-1 team in 2006.
Benson is no stranger to IU, as her father is former IU men's basketball standout Kent Benson. Her older sister, Gennie, plays volleyball at Vincennes University.
