Norton leads Razorbacks to win

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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Freshman Jasmine Norton paced the University of Arkansas volleyball team as the Razorbacks picked up their second consecutive win defeating Texas-Arlington in Barnhill Arena Tuesday.

Arkansas (2-2) downed UTA, 25-20, 25-14, 25-11, behind Norton’s 11 kills and .318 hitting percentage. She was the only player in double-digits.

Freshman Amanda Anderson added nine kills and hit .368 while senior Kristin Seaton tallied seven kills and hit .545. Sophomore Kelli Stipanovich finished with six kills and hit .417. Freshman Janeliss Torres-Lopez led the team with seven blocks and sophomore Phoebe Bautista had 14 digs in the win.

"Jasmine is certainly going to be an exciting player to watch," said Arkansas head coach Robert Pulliza. "She’s very athletic and dynamic. But it’s going to be a collective effort all season. Kelli did a great job and so did Kristin – everybody. Every person that stepped on the court tonight got it done. I can’t say enough about how proud I am and pleased that we were ready to go in our first match in Barnhill Arena."

The Razorbacks dominated every statistical category out-hitting a very athletic UTA team .378-.034. Arkansas finished with nine blocks, 43 digs and 42 kills.

Arkansas played well from the opening serve winning the first set 25-20. Arkansas out-hit UTA .314-.152 with 16 kills while holding the Mavericks to nine for the set. Norton paced the team with five kills and Seaton was 4-0-5 hitting .800 for the set.

The Razorbacks led from the first serve running out to a 7-2 advantage and never looking. UTA put together a couple mini-runs but couldn’t overcome their early deficit.

Arkansas was even better in the second set hitting .542 while holding UTA to a .074 hitting percentage. The balanced effort saw Norton, Torres-Lopez and Stipanovich each record three kills each while the Razorbacks made just two hitting errors.

The Razorbacks wrapped up the match in the third set again opening a big lead early and not looking back. Arkansas led by 16 late, 22-6, before sailing to the win.

Arkansas returns to the road traveling to Blacksburg, Va., for the Virginia Tech Invitational. For more information regarding Razorback volleyball or University of Arkansas athletics, please visit ArkansasRazorbacks.com.