As the No. 6 Arizona volleyball team prepares to say goodbye to its four seniors Saturday on Senior Day, Wildcats head coach Dave Rubio is preparing for next season, signing two athletes to national letters of intent last week.
Ashley Hamilton, a setter out of Lone Peak High School in Utah, and Jacy Norton, a middle blocker from Louisville, Ky., will join the Arizona roster next season.
Hamilton helped lead the Knights to the 4A state championship match on Nov. 5, but Lone Peak was unable to pull out the win, falling to Pleasant Grove High School.
Rubio said when Arizona originally recruited Hamilton, they were not expecting sophomore setter Amy Dyck to be starting, although Hamilton’s presence will provide Arizona with additional depth.
Hamilton comes from good volleyball bloodlines, as her mother, Tami, holds the NCAA Division I record in assists in a season with 2,026, set in 1984 with Brigham Young.
“Her father was on the (Cougars’) national championship football team when he was there,” Rubio said. “She certainly comes from a good lineage.”
Norton, who moved to San Diego last week from Corpus Christi, Texas, will play for the Epic Volleyball Club during her senior campaign. Arizona freshman Brooke Buringrud and sophomore Emily Harper also competed with Epic in high school.
“With Bre (Ladd) leaving, we’re going to need some people in the middle to help us out, so (Norton’s addition) will give us some depth also,” Rubio said.