Fortado to Undergo Season-Ending Surgery
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Razorback senior Liz Fortado is set to have knee surgery that will keep her out for the remainder of the 2015 season. She sustained the injury Oct. 23 in Arkansas road match at Florida. Selected as a team captain for her senior campaign, Fortado will close out her career as member of the program’s 500-kill club and key contributor to Arkansas’ 2012 and 2013 NCAA Tournament teams.
“Coaching Liz is one of the great pleasures I’ve had during my coaching career,” head coach Robert Pulliza said. “I’m proud of the person she is and the player she has become. Liz has been a key figure in making Arkansas one of the top programs in the country and we expect her to continue to be a huge part of this team as the season progresses even though we won’t have her on the court.”
Fortado started 17 of 19 matches this season and recorded nine matches with seven or more kills including a season-high 16 kills against Army West Point during the Arkansas Invitational. She went on to earn all-tournament accolades during the Razorback Invitational after hitting .412 during the three-match weekend and tying her career high with six total blocks in Arkansas’ straight-set win over Southeast Missouri.
In Arkansas’ upset wins over Kansas State and No. 11 Wisconsin, Fortado totaled 19 kills and four total blocks. Adding to an already standout career, she became the 29th member of Arkansas’ 500-kill club with her second kill at Tennessee earlier this season.
The Flower Mound, Texas, native began her career by earning a spot on the SEC All-Freshman Team and helping the Razorbacks break a six-year postseason absence with a bid to the 2012 NCAA Tournament. The team followed with another run to the NCAA Tournament during Fortado’s sophomore season. Playing in front of the second-largest home crowd in program history, Fortado put down a career-high 19 kills to push Arkansas to a five-set win over South Carolina in 2014.
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