Volleyball hosts UTA Tuesday

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The University of Arkansas volleyball team opens the 2009 home schedule hosting Texas-Arlington Tuesday at 7 p.m. in Barnhill Arena. The Razorbacks (1-2) opened the year on the road with three solid performances at the TCU Invitational. Freshman Amanda Anderson earned all-tournament team honors, and along with several other players turned in flashy performances last weekend. “It’s always exciting to get the season started on your home court,” said Arkansas head coach Robert Pulliza. “We’re looking forward to building off last weekend’s performances and showing our fans what Arkansas volleyball is all about.” UTA comes to Fayetteville with a 1-2 overall record with a win over Gardner Webb and losses to Oral Roberts and Illinois State. Arkansas’ home opener is the first of 13 Barnhill matches this year. The Razorbacks return home hosting the Arkansas Invitational, Sept. 11-12, before beginning home Southeastern Conference play Sept. 18 with South Carolina. The Razorback lineup features a mix of old and new for 2009. Two seniors, Kristin Seaton and Lindsay Scanlan return to lead three sophomores and seven newcomers this year and despite the team’s youth, all have already seen court time. Freshman Jasmine Norton started her career with 23 kills and 17 digs against TCU in the first match of the year. Anderson finished the weekend with 30 kills and hit a team-leading .436 in three matches. The Mavericks are hitting .175 as a team paced by Bianca Sauls with a team-best 38 kills and 3.80 kills-per-set. Arkansas’ first weekend stats are impressive with the Razorbacks hitting .252 in the first three contests. Sophomore Kelli Stipanovich and Norton both have 32 kills on the year, followed by Anderson’s 30 and Seaton’s 24 in what has been a balanced offense thus far. Sophomore Phoebe Bautista posted a career-best 29 digs against TCU and leads the team with 49 for the season and the Razorbacks are averaging 2.00 blocks-per-set. Tickets for Tuesday’s match are available by calling the Razorback Ticket Office at 575-5151 or 800-982-HOGS. They are also available on-line at ArkansasRazorbacks.com.