University of North Texas Athletics
Volleyball Faces Crucial C-USA Matches
10/31/2019 3:00:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
MIAMI – North Texas volleyball travels to Florida for two matches this weekend. The Mean Green (13-8. 7-2) open the weekend with Florida International (9-12, 2-7) on Friday at 6 p.m. before travelling to face Florida Atlantic (12-7, 6-2) on Sunday at 11 a.m.
FAU and North Texas last met in the Conference USA tournament in 2018. The Mean Green won the match-up 3-1 behind 13 kills from Valerie Valerian and 12 from Barbara Teakell. Florida Atlantic have won three of the last six match-ups between the two.
"These are two good teams we're facing," head coach Andrew Palileo said. "They're both athletic. The will challenge us in different ways."
The Mean Green's defense has been strong over the last couple weeks, but 2018 conference All-Freshman team member Rhett Robinson has been explosive in helping North Texas win matches. Robinson has had double-digit kills in nine matches this season, and currently holds a streak of seven-straight matches with double-digit kills dating back to Sept. 29 against #18 Rice.
North Texas is 5-2 in conference matches where Robinson has had over 10 kills. She has opened the offensive to make Valerian and Teakell more effective.
"She's been listening and following instruction," Palileo said. "She's also done some blocking. We are pretty excited about it. She's matured a bit from last year and has overcome and played through a lot. She knew that we needed her. As you get older you just get more comfortable playing in the college game."
The Mean Green currently sit in third in C-USA behind #23 Western Kentucky and #18 Rice. FAU sits in fourth, meaning that with two wins, North Texas can take a strong hold on third place in the conference heading into the final two weekends of C-USA play.
"Both of these matches are very important," Palileo said. "We can really position ourselves. I think it's going to be two really good matches in places we've won before. Both teams are capable of beating us, we just want to continue to focus on our side of the net."
Both games will carry live stats and stream on CUSA.tv. Follow along with @MeanGreenVB on Twitter for live tweets.
FAU and North Texas last met in the Conference USA tournament in 2018. The Mean Green won the match-up 3-1 behind 13 kills from Valerie Valerian and 12 from Barbara Teakell. Florida Atlantic have won three of the last six match-ups between the two.
"These are two good teams we're facing," head coach Andrew Palileo said. "They're both athletic. The will challenge us in different ways."
The Mean Green's defense has been strong over the last couple weeks, but 2018 conference All-Freshman team member Rhett Robinson has been explosive in helping North Texas win matches. Robinson has had double-digit kills in nine matches this season, and currently holds a streak of seven-straight matches with double-digit kills dating back to Sept. 29 against #18 Rice.
North Texas is 5-2 in conference matches where Robinson has had over 10 kills. She has opened the offensive to make Valerian and Teakell more effective.
"She's been listening and following instruction," Palileo said. "She's also done some blocking. We are pretty excited about it. She's matured a bit from last year and has overcome and played through a lot. She knew that we needed her. As you get older you just get more comfortable playing in the college game."
The Mean Green currently sit in third in C-USA behind #23 Western Kentucky and #18 Rice. FAU sits in fourth, meaning that with two wins, North Texas can take a strong hold on third place in the conference heading into the final two weekends of C-USA play.
"Both of these matches are very important," Palileo said. "We can really position ourselves. I think it's going to be two really good matches in places we've won before. Both teams are capable of beating us, we just want to continue to focus on our side of the net."
Both games will carry live stats and stream on CUSA.tv. Follow along with @MeanGreenVB on Twitter for live tweets.
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