Norton earns SEC Freshman of the Week

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – University of Arkansas outside hitter Jasmine Norton was named the Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Week Monday when the league office announced its weekly honors. Norton paced the Razorback volleyball team to a split during the opening weekend of SEC play with 17 kills against South Carolina and seven kills against No. 5 Florida."Obviously, I’m very excited for Jasmine to receive this honor," head coach Robert Pulliza said. "She has been working hard since day one of preseason workouts and that was evident this weekend as she played in her first SEC match and comes up with 17 kills. I’m proud of her and look forward to seeing her progress even more as the season continues."Norton’s 17-kill performance against the Gamecocks was her eighth double-digit output of the season, and is the third-best total of her young career. The Rowlett, Texas, native also equaled her career best with five blocks in the three-set win against South Carolina. The Razorbacks opened league play with a 25-16, 25-21, 25-15 victory.

In the weekend finale, Norton was one of two players to lead the team with seven kills against the Gators. She has led the Razorbacks in kills on nine occasions this year, including the 23-kill effort in her collegiate debut against TCU.

For the week, Norton averaged 4.00 kills per set and 1.00 blocks per set for totals of 24 and six, respectively. She average 4.67 points per set during the weekend.

Through 13 matches, Norton leads Arkansas with 156 kills, good for 3.47 kills per set which also leads the team and is fourth in the SEC. The high-flying freshman also has a team-best 18 service aces and is third on the roster with 30 total blocks. Norton is second in the conference with 0.40 aces per set. She has also proven her ability when not attacking the ball with 68 digs.

The Razorbacks hit the road this weekend for a pair of SEC matchups. Arkansas opens its conference road schedule with a Sept. 25 meeting at Tennessee. The match is set for a 6 p.m. (CT) start time. The team then travels to Lexington to close out the weekend against Kentucky at 12:30 p.m. (CT). For continued coverage of Razorback volleyball, log on to ArkansasRazorbacks.com.