Carol Price-Torok was promoted to associate head coach of the University of Arkansas volleyball team prior to the 2013 season, having spent the five previous seasons as an assistant coach, and is set to begin her eighth season with the Razorbacks. Additionally, Price-Torok’s duties include film breakdown, match preparation and camp coordination.
With Price-Torok on the bench, the Razorback volleyball team has increased its win total in each of the past four seasons, including a 22-win campaign in 2012 that culminated with a bid into the NCAA Tournament. Last year, Arkansas posted a 22-10 overall record and a 13-7 mark in Southeastern Conference play. The program’s 20-win season is its first since 2005.
The Razorbacks finished the 2012 season in second place in the SEC Western Division and fifth in the overall conference rankings. Arkansas had a No. 32 ranking in the season’s final RPI ranking. Pulliza and Price-Torok have guided the program to an improvement of more than 100 spots in the RPI with the program ranked No. 140 when the two arrived in Fayetteville prior to the 2008 season.
Price-Torok has been Arkansas’ recruiting coordinator the past two seasons which has resulted in program-high class rankings in back-to-back seasons. Most recently, she spearheaded the Razorbacks’ 2013 recruiting class that was rated the top incoming group in the SEC and ranked No. 16 in the country overall. The newest class of Razorbacks features three players—Danielle Harbin, Breana Jones and Megan Mollett—ranked within the Senior Aces Top 100 list.
The previous season saw Arkansas’ 2012 recruiting class ranked No. 26 in the country by PrepVolleyball.com. That group also featured a trio of PrepVolleyball Senior Aces in Liz Fortado, Ana Sofia Jusino and Summer Morgan. Fortado made an immediate impact on the program and was named to the 2012 SEC All-Freshman Team after a standout first season in Cardinal and White.
Price-Torok is also responsible for Arkansas’ defensive efforts. Defensively, the Razorbacks held opponents to a .188 hitting percentage in 2012 and averaged 14.97 digs per set. Both figures were good for sixth in the SEC. During the 2011 season, Arkansas finished second as a team in the league with 2.42 blocks per set and third in the conference by holding opponents to a .187 hitting percentage. In 2011, Price-Torok helped Kasey Heckelman, playing her first season as a middle blocker, finish fourth in the SEC with 1.03 blocks per set.
Since the 2008 season, Price-Torok’s first at Arkansas, the program has tallied three AVCA All-America honors, five AVCA All-Region accolades and 11 All-SEC selections including SEC Freshman of the Year for Jasmine Norton in 2009 and SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year for Amanda Anderson in 2012.
Price-Torok came to Arkansas after two seasons (2006-07) as an assistant coach at the University of Texas-San Antonio. While at UTSA, she helped the Roadrunners to successes both in and out of the gym. During her tenure, six players earned All-Southland Conference honors, including first-team performers Connie Picard and Victoria Prior. In addition to UTSA’s accomplishments on the court, Price-Torok assisted the Roadrunners with five selections to the SLC All-Academic Team.
Her coaching career began in 2005 as an assistant coach at Southeastern University in Georgetown, Texas. She aided the Pirates to a 36-5 record, the team’s first Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference title in recent years and a trip to the NCAA Division III Tournament.
Price-Torok played collegiately at Texas A&M from 2000-03. A two-year starter as an outside hitter for the Aggies, she earned the team’s Most Improved Player award as a junior. She went on to earn Best Offensive Player honors as a senior after moving to middle blocker. During Price-Torok’s playing career, Texas A&M advanced to the Regional Final in 2001 and the Sweet Sixteen in 2003.
In addition to volleyball, Price-Torok was a center on the Aggies women’s basketball team during the 2003-04 season.
Price-Torok is a 2004 graduate of Texas A&M University with a bachelor’s degree in horticulture. The former Carol Price married Matt Torok in December 2008, and the coupled has two sons, Jaxen and Kaden. The family resides in Fayetteville.
