The NIU volleyball team will be without redshirt freshman April Hankton for at least the remainder of the season because of a disagreement with the coaches, Hankton said.

A 5-foot-11 outside hitter from Minnesota, Hankton was an AAU All-American in high school.

“If [NIU coach Ray Gooden] wants me to come back, he knows where to find my number,” Hankton said.

Gooden declined to comment on the situation until the season is over.

Hankton, who still is on scholarship, said the disagreement was about her leaving practice 15 minutes early to attend a class at DuSable Hall.

She added that the coaches tried to make her run for being late to her math class. She said she didn’t do anything wrong, so she told the coaches if they gave her a good reason to run, she would do so without a problem. She said Gooden told her to find another team to play for if she didn’t run.

Hankton, who has not played this season, was cleared to play before the Sept. 26 match against Ball State. NIU had to appeal to the NCAA to make Hankton eligible because she was missing some of the core classes that are required for NIU.

She also has not been practicing with the team for the last week and did not dress in the team’s previous two matches.

Hankton said she would like to return to play for the Huskies next season. If things don’t work out, she will go back home to play for the University of Minnesota. She said Minnesota recruited her out of high school, but later told her she would have to walk-on because there were no more scholarships to offer.