Friday, November 8
Denton
6 p.m.
University of North Texas
-159,93 CUSA
1
vs
3
Western Kentucky
-251,110 CUSA
1
2
3
4
F
Western Ky.
25
23
25
25
3
North Texas
16
25
11
19
1
Volleyball Falls To WKU In Four Sets
11/8/2019 9:08:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
DENTON – North Texas volleyball fell on senior night to No. 22 Western Kentucky in four sets (16-25, 25-23, 11-25, 19-25). Valerie Valerian, Rhett Robinson and Alysha Johnson got into double-digit kills. Valerian led the team with 15 kills while Robinson had 11. Johnson had 10.
Valerian notched a double-double with 10 digs. Aleeyah Galdeira led in digs with 17. Seniors Jill Duffin and Olivia Petnicki both got the start. The North Texas (15-9, 9-3) win in set two broke a 22-set win streak for Western Kentucky (25-1, 11-0).
"We just haven't had time to see what kind of team we are going to be without Kaliegh," head coach Andrew Palileo said. "It's not an excuse for us. Tonight wasn't about the setting. We're going to have to do a better job and create a new identity for ourselves."
It was an emotional night for the two seniors. Petnicki appeared in all four sets. Duffin appeared in one. Petnicki had an ace and three digs.
"Tonight makes you realize it's really about more than volleyball," Duffin said. "Seeing all the nice things that our teammates said about us and seeing them all supporting us, it really is like a family."
North Texas was outhit .394 to .161. The Lady Toppers had 17 kills in set three, the most for WKU in the match. North Texas' top mark came in set two with 19 on 45 attacks. WKU won the blocking battle with seven compared to North Texas' six. Kasey Bortnem had a run at setter in which she picked up seven assists.
The Mean Green travel to UTEP on Sunday looking to wrap up a perfect 8-0 road record in Conference play.
"I think they kept applying pressure," Petnicki said. "We didn't really know how to react. We never folded but we were pretty passive the whole game. We never really attacked them like we could have."
Valerian notched a double-double with 10 digs. Aleeyah Galdeira led in digs with 17. Seniors Jill Duffin and Olivia Petnicki both got the start. The North Texas (15-9, 9-3) win in set two broke a 22-set win streak for Western Kentucky (25-1, 11-0).
"We just haven't had time to see what kind of team we are going to be without Kaliegh," head coach Andrew Palileo said. "It's not an excuse for us. Tonight wasn't about the setting. We're going to have to do a better job and create a new identity for ourselves."
It was an emotional night for the two seniors. Petnicki appeared in all four sets. Duffin appeared in one. Petnicki had an ace and three digs.
"Tonight makes you realize it's really about more than volleyball," Duffin said. "Seeing all the nice things that our teammates said about us and seeing them all supporting us, it really is like a family."
North Texas was outhit .394 to .161. The Lady Toppers had 17 kills in set three, the most for WKU in the match. North Texas' top mark came in set two with 19 on 45 attacks. WKU won the blocking battle with seven compared to North Texas' six. Kasey Bortnem had a run at setter in which she picked up seven assists.
The Mean Green travel to UTEP on Sunday looking to wrap up a perfect 8-0 road record in Conference play.
"I think they kept applying pressure," Petnicki said. "We didn't really know how to react. We never folded but we were pretty passive the whole game. We never really attacked them like we could have."
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Team Stats
WestKy
UNT
Kills
61
47
Errors
10
22
Attempts
128
148
Hitting %
.398
.169
Points
76
57
Assists
55
38
Aces
7
4
Blocks
8
6
Game Leaders
Kills
15
Aces
1
Blocks
0
Kills
11
Aces
1
Blocks
2
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
DS/S
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
DS
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's Volleyball
DS/L
/ Women's Volleyball
MB/OH
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
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