Friday, August 30
Denton
9:30 a.m.
University of North Texas
vs
Illinois State
Photo by: Rick Yeatts Photography / Manny Flores
Volleyball Opens Season With North Texas Invite
8/29/2019 9:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
DENTON – North Texas volleyball opens the 2019 season when it hosts the North Texas Invitational. The Mean Green will face off with (RV) Pepperdine, Illinois State and Tulsa Friday and Saturday.
The action starts at 9:30 a.m. on Friday with Illinois State, followed by a 6:30 p.m. match against Pepperdine to wrap up Friday's action. The Mean Green will then face Tulsa at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday. The full tournament schedule is available online.
North Texas enters the 2019 season losing just two starters from 2018 in Karley York and Jordyn Williams. The Mean Green have five newcomers: freshmen defensive specialists and liberos Jordan Burks and Alleyah Galdeira, freshman outside hitter Avery McCrillis, freshman middle blocker Alysha Johnson and sophomore transfer setter Kailyn O'Neal.
Head coach Andrew Palileo noted that during the first weekend of competition, most coaches are more focused on their own teams of their opponents. Despite losing just two players to graduation in the offseason, the Mean Green will be looking for their new identity in weekend one.
"I think our freshman will be very important for our depth," Palileo said. "We've got good players, and we've got the experience we need, but take into consideration we have a brand-new setter who wants to do some of the things Karley did for us last year. We have been talking to them about just being themselves. We've talked about it as a team that they have to be prepared to game plan on the fly and adjust as we are playing this weekend."
Pepperdine enters the North Texas Invitational receiving 36 votes in the first American Volleyball Coaches Association poll. The Waves defeated North Texas in straight sets at home on September 1, 2018. Illinois State made it to the NCAA Tournament, getting edged out by Cincinnati in straight-sets in the first round.
The Mean Green faced Tulsa twice last season, losing the first meeting 3-2 on September 26 before beating the Golden Hurricane 3-1 in Denton in the opening round of the National Invitational Volleyball Championship.
"We didn't do so well against Pepperdine last year," senior libero Olivia Petnicki said. "We're already looking better at the beginning of this season than where we were last season. It will be exciting to see how we match up against them this year. They're tall and long and keep the ball going. We're just going to have to make sure our blocking is really solid and match their energy."
After back-to-back trips to the NIVC, the Mean Green have just one thing on their mind – a trip to the NCAA Tournament.
The Mean Green hit the road after the North Texas Invitational and will not return home until Sept. 19 when they hosts the North Texas Challenge. After the North Texas Challenge the Mean Green will jump straight into conference play. Sophomore Sarah Haeussler, who had a strong finish to the 2018 season, thinks her class' improved maturity will be crucial both early in the season and down the stretch. She and her fellow sophomores have been offering the newcomers advice.
"We've really grown up," Haeussler said. "We've just been telling them you will be nervous, but that's natural. It's how you respond and react. We have a lot of youngsters, so they need to come along a little bit. But for the most part we should be consistent considering we didn't have that much turnover. I think we'll be consistent this season."
All games of the North Texas Invitational will have a live stat feed available to the public. The first 350 fans to come to Saturday's match against Pepperdine will recieve green leis as part of Hawaiian Night. Follow along with @MeanGreenVB on twitter for live updates.
The action starts at 9:30 a.m. on Friday with Illinois State, followed by a 6:30 p.m. match against Pepperdine to wrap up Friday's action. The Mean Green will then face Tulsa at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday. The full tournament schedule is available online.
North Texas enters the 2019 season losing just two starters from 2018 in Karley York and Jordyn Williams. The Mean Green have five newcomers: freshmen defensive specialists and liberos Jordan Burks and Alleyah Galdeira, freshman outside hitter Avery McCrillis, freshman middle blocker Alysha Johnson and sophomore transfer setter Kailyn O'Neal.
Head coach Andrew Palileo noted that during the first weekend of competition, most coaches are more focused on their own teams of their opponents. Despite losing just two players to graduation in the offseason, the Mean Green will be looking for their new identity in weekend one.
"I think our freshman will be very important for our depth," Palileo said. "We've got good players, and we've got the experience we need, but take into consideration we have a brand-new setter who wants to do some of the things Karley did for us last year. We have been talking to them about just being themselves. We've talked about it as a team that they have to be prepared to game plan on the fly and adjust as we are playing this weekend."
Pepperdine enters the North Texas Invitational receiving 36 votes in the first American Volleyball Coaches Association poll. The Waves defeated North Texas in straight sets at home on September 1, 2018. Illinois State made it to the NCAA Tournament, getting edged out by Cincinnati in straight-sets in the first round.
The Mean Green faced Tulsa twice last season, losing the first meeting 3-2 on September 26 before beating the Golden Hurricane 3-1 in Denton in the opening round of the National Invitational Volleyball Championship.
"We didn't do so well against Pepperdine last year," senior libero Olivia Petnicki said. "We're already looking better at the beginning of this season than where we were last season. It will be exciting to see how we match up against them this year. They're tall and long and keep the ball going. We're just going to have to make sure our blocking is really solid and match their energy."
After back-to-back trips to the NIVC, the Mean Green have just one thing on their mind – a trip to the NCAA Tournament.
The Mean Green hit the road after the North Texas Invitational and will not return home until Sept. 19 when they hosts the North Texas Challenge. After the North Texas Challenge the Mean Green will jump straight into conference play. Sophomore Sarah Haeussler, who had a strong finish to the 2018 season, thinks her class' improved maturity will be crucial both early in the season and down the stretch. She and her fellow sophomores have been offering the newcomers advice.
"We've really grown up," Haeussler said. "We've just been telling them you will be nervous, but that's natural. It's how you respond and react. We have a lot of youngsters, so they need to come along a little bit. But for the most part we should be consistent considering we didn't have that much turnover. I think we'll be consistent this season."
All games of the North Texas Invitational will have a live stat feed available to the public. The first 350 fans to come to Saturday's match against Pepperdine will recieve green leis as part of Hawaiian Night. Follow along with @MeanGreenVB on twitter for live updates.
Players Mentioned
DS
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
DS/L
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
S
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