Volleyball adds four to signing class

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The University of Arkansas volleyball team bolstered its 2015 recruiting class on Thursday with four student-athletes that come to Arkansas with an impressive resume of international accolades that include Grand Prix and World Championship experience. With their most recent signings, the Razorbacks welcome Kimi Davis, Juliette Fidon, Fernanda Güitron and Okiana Valle. This marks the seventh recruiting class at Arkansas for head coach Robert Pulliza.

Kimi Davis 5-5 || L/DS || Rogers, Ark.

Davis was a three-year starter for Rogers High School where she amassed more than 1,500 digs during her prep career. She was a three-time all-conference selection, two-time team Most Valuable Player and added 7A All-State accolades during her senior season. Davis helped lead Rogers to two top-16 state finishes including a trip to the Elite 8 in 2014. As a sophomore, she set the school record with 634 digs during the 2012 season.

Juliette Fidon 6-1 || OH || France

Fidon is a veteran within the French National Team program as a member of both youth and junior national teams. She has played in three FIVB World Championship qualifiers and four CEV European Championships. She is currently playing with the French Junior National Team in the World Championship qualifying process with the second round of matches set for May in Serbia. In the first round, she ranked 14th in scoring among all players with 3.64 points per set. Asked to play above her age group, Fidon was fourth in overall scoring at the 2013 Youth European Championships and finished the tournament averaging 3.27 kills per set. Among her highlights during the 2013 Junior World Championships qualifier, she was named game MVP with a match-high 17.5 points in a 3-1 win over Belgium.

Fernanda Güitron 6-0 || OPP || Mexico

Güitron also brings impressive international credentials to Fayetteville, having most recently played with the Mexico National Team at the 2014 FIVB World Grand Prix and 2014 U20 NORCECA Continental Championship in Guatemala. She was also part of championship team at the 2013 U20 Pan American Cup in Cuba. Her international-level experience also includes playing at the 2013 U18 World Championships in Thailand and U20 World Championships in the Czech Republic. In 2012, Güitron had a match-high 18 points in the bronze-medal match of the U18 NORCECA Continental Championship to lead Mexico to qualify for that year’s FIVB U18 World Championships.

Okiana Valle 5-2 || L/DS || Puerto Rico

Valle is a current member of the Puerto Rico Junior National Team and was a candidate for the 2013 Puerto Rico National Player of the Year after a standout performance with the Youth National Team. She helped lead Puerto Rico to a second-place finish at the U-18 Pan American Cup in Guatemala where she was rated the top service receiver in the tournament and ranked third in digs. She went on to play with Puerto Rico at the U-18 World Championships in Thailand where she led all players with 291 digs, third overall with 2.03 digs per set and 11th in reception percentage during the competition to lead her country to a 14th-place finish in the world standings.

With the addition of February signee Pilar Victoria, the Razorbacks’ incoming class is set to include five newcomers to the program. Victoria comes to Fayetteville as a junior after spending the first two years of her collegiate career at Texas where she helped the team to two Final Four appearances. She also brings international experience to Arkansas as a past member of the Puerto Rico Junior National Team.

Arkansas resumes its spring schedule Saturday with a home match against Kansas. First serve is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. (CT) at Barnhill Arena. The remainder of the spring season includes an April 23 road match at Missouri State followed by an April 25 home match against TCU at 11 a.m.

The Razorbacks are also gearing up for the 2015 Arkansas Volleyball Summer Camps. The camp schedule features Lil’ Backs Camp (June 29-July 1), Position Camp (July 6), All-Skills Camp (July 7-9), Team Camp I (July 10-12), Team Camp II (July 14-16), Junior High Play Day (July 18) and Serving Clinic (July 18). For more information, visit the Razorback camp home page at ArkansasVolleyballCamps.com.

For more information about Arkansas volleyball, follow @RazorbackVB on Twitter.