There are few things Gophers volleyball All-America players Tori Dixon and Ashley Wittman have done without the other.
They've traveled to Italy and Puerto Rico together. They've made soup for each other when one of them was sick. They have the same major, sports management, and take most of the same classes. On Friday, they'll play in their fourth consecutive Sweet 16 as teammates.
The Gophers face Stanford in the NCAA Regional at Lexington, Ky., with the winner advancing to Saturday's region final.
A long history has produced countless memories for Dixon, a middle blocker, and Wittman, an outside hitter. They've played alongside one another for the past 10 years and have grown into two of the program's most prolific players. They've also become best friends.
"We've experienced everything together, from volleyball, school, friends," Dixon said. "It's just been a good experience having your best friend with you all the time."
Their commitment to volleyball and the Northern Lights Junior Volleyball club at age 12 sparked the friendship. As they began to travel together, the bond grew and eventually extended into high school, despite the rivalry Burnsville and Shakopee had developed.
Shakopee always prevailed, Wittman still reminds Dixon. Most of Shakopee's points would come when Dixon rotated to the back row.
The friendly competition ended when the high school stars joined forces with the Gophers. Since then, they've only made each other better. As college teammates they developed better communication and accountability, each said, through offseason workouts together.