MINNEAPOLIS -- Minnesota junior outside
Julia Hanson has been named AVCA/Gamechanger Division I Women's Player of the Week, the organization announced Tuesday morning.
Hanson is just the third Big Ten player to take home the award this season, joining Purdue's Eva Hudson (Sept. 1) and Oregon's Mimi Colyer (Oct. 13). She's the first Gopher to win the award since Nov. 29, 2022.
A Savage, Minn., native,
Julia Hanson's massive week saw her record 6.44 points, 5.63 kills, 2.00 digs, 0.63 blocks and 0.13 assists per set. She was also named Big Ten Player of the Week for the second time in her career.
In last Wednesday's match at Illinois, Hanson had 22 kills (.283) with seven digs, three blocks and an ace. Friday against Ohio State she went for 23 kills (.400) with nine digs, two blocks and three aces.
On the season, Hanson has hit double-digit kills in 25 of 30 matches, including seven 20+ kill matches. She's hit 20+ kills in five of the last six matches.
The Gophers (20-10, 13-7 B1G) compete in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday, Dec. 5 at 4:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. CT against Western Kentucky (28-6, 18-0 CUSA). The match will take place at Memorial Coliseum in Lexington, Ky.
