Men's Sports, Men's Volleyball, Sports

Dalton Ammerman follows in family’s footsteps to become volleyball star

Legalized marijuana and fleets of winter snow might be the most interesting aspects of good ole’ Colorado. Even its nickname, the Centennial State, given to the land because of its membership to America 100 years after the nation signed the declaration of independence, isn’t as appealing as neighboring Kansas’ sunflower moniker. But somewhere in the quaint 30-year-old city of Parker, bore a man with great talent, who was made for more than just snow and Mary Jane.

Coming from a town with a population of just over 45,000 people, Long Beach State’s Dalton Ammerman found a more fitting environment in sunny Southern California — where some of the nation’s best volleyball players are bred.

Born in Anchorage, Alaska and raised in Parker, Colo. since life after three months old, Ammerman picked up a hobby that most Coloradans didn’t pay much mind to: volleyball.

While the sport may not be common in Colorado, it isn’t much of a stretch that Ammerman took a liking to it. Both of his parents played collegiate volleyball, and so did his All-American older brother, who reigned at UC Irvine. His older sister also played collegiately and was a four-year letter winner at Texas A&M.

During high school, Ammerman was a gold medal holder during his time on the USA Volleyball Youth National Team. His powerful arm and grasp of the game attracted the nation’s top schools including UCI, Penn State and Hawaii. Ammerman and his family expected that he would follow his big brother’s footsteps and continue at UCI, but even to his own surprise, he committed to LBSU.

“I actually visited [LBSU] before going to Irvine, but I made up my mind after that visit … I just knew I wanted to come here.” Ammerman said.

Ammerman played 10 matches his first year and started in four as a true freshman, and didn’t let anything stop him from progressing. That is, until he suffered a rare condition.

Ammerman developed thoracic outlet syndrome at the start of his junior year, forcing him to redshirt the remainder of the season. He explained that he had a vein in his right arm that was pinched off by the muscles in his neck and that it gave him his most challenging struggle to date, but later saw it as a valuable learning experience.

“It was very difficult at first, but after it was all over, I realized it worked out for the best,” Ammerman explained. “I was able to sit and observe, learning what I probably wouldn’t have if I didn’t sit out as much as I did.”

Ammerman went on to snatch the All-Mountain Pacific Sports Fecderation Honorable Mention, American Volleyball Coaches Association National Player of the Week and MPSF Player of the Week awards the following season. To every 49er fan’s disappointment, though, Ammerman had another tough start to his senior year. He suffered an ankle injury early on and sat out a few matches.

Ammerman’s resilience and character didn’t keep hopes down for long, as he hurried to return to the court. He now has the second-most kills on the team.

“Dalton [Ammerman] has gone through so much adversity, and it has been such a pleasure to have been able to watch him succeed the way he has,” head coach Alan Knipe said. “Dalton [Ammerman] is a great player and an even greater person.”

Ammerman doesn’t give away much. One thing he did make clear, though, was his love for his nine-member nuclear family. Although he has great love for his parents, Ammerman said it wasn’t always easy being raised Catholic, but coming to LBSU allowed him to gain the independence he always wanted.

“I was always told what to do and how to live. It was always God first,” Ammerman said. “So it was nice to come out here to gain a new perspective on life and the independence I like.”

After life at LBSU, Ammerman said he hopes to play professionally overseas in either Italy, Germany or Croatia. As for life after volleyball, he sees himself as a firefighter and has his eyes set on living in a big city like Long Beach.

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