Acosta, Norton earn AVCA All-Region accolades

FAYETTEVILLE – Postseason honors continued for the University of Arkansas volleyball team Tuesday with the selection of seniors Roslandy Acosta and Jasmine Norton to the All-South Region First Team by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA). With their all-region honors, Acosta and Norton are now eligible for 2012 AVCA All-America accolades. Those honors will be announced Wednesday, Dec. 12.

Tuesday’s release marks the first time Razorback teammates have earned all-region awards in the same season since 2003. Acosta is making her first appearance as an AVCA All-Region performer while Norton claims the third such honor of her career. Norton becomes the third player in program history to earn three all-region honors during her Razorback career. She joins the list that includes Yarleen Santiago and Libby Windell.

Following a standout season for the Razorbacks, Acosta was named to the All-Southeastern Conference First Team after averaging 3.14 kills per set and 1.80 digs per set during league play. Over the course of the entire season, she registered 3.15 kills per set with a .253 hitting percentage. Acosta had seven double-double performances during the year and posted double-digit kill figures in the final 15 matches of the season.

The Vargas, Venezuela, native registered a career-high 20 kills in the Razorbacks’ NCAA first-round match against Wichita State. She reset her career high in kills four times during the season. In the final 11 matches of the year, Acosta averaged 2.72 digs per set and had a career-high 20 digs in Arkansas’ five-set victory over Kentucky. During the Razorbacks’ non-conference schedule, Acosta was named the MVP of the Arkansas Invitational and earned all-tournament honors at the adidas/Michigan Challenge.

Norton began her senior campaign with a third selection to the Preseason All-SEC Team. She responded with a spot on the All-SEC Second Team, the fourth all-conference award of her career. During the year, she registered 3.65 kills per set and 3.04 digs per set. Norton led the Razorbacks with 16 double-doubles in 2012 and had at least 10 kills in 14 of the last 15 matches of the season.

The Rowlett, Texas, native finishes her career in Cardinal and White as the second-most prolific attacker in program history and No. 8 on the SEC’s all-time list with 1,799 career kills. Earlier in the year, Norton became just the sixth player in program history to collect 1,000 career kills and 1,000 career digs. During the year, Norton had 15 matches with at least 15 kills. She also earned 2012 all-tournament honors at the Arkansas Invitational and adidas/Michigan Challenge.

In addition to teams from the SEC, the South Region is comprised of the Atlantic Sun Conference, Southern Conference, Sun Belt Conference and independents New Orleans, NJIT and Savannah State. For more information regarding Razorback volleyball or University of Arkansas athletics, please visit ArkansasRazorbacks.com. Fans can also keep up with Arkansas volleyball through the team’s sport-specific RazorbackVB Facebook and Twitter pages.