Saturday, August 31
Denton
12:30 p.m.
University of North Texas
-21,00 CUSA
3
vs
1
Tulsa
1-2,0-0AAC
1
2
3
4
F
Tulsa
18
19
25
23
1
North Texas
25
25
20
25
3
Photo by: Manny Flores
MGVB Defeats Tulsa, Improves to 2-1
8/31/2019 4:39:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
DENTON – North Texas volleyball came from behind in set four to defeat Tulsa (1-2) for the second time in three meetings.
North Texas (2-1) won sets one and two handily before having to claw back in set four after dropping set three. Tulsa led 22-20 as Barbara Teakell set up to serve. The Mean Green allowed just one more point while racking up five to take the set and the match.
"I had no timeouts, so they had to look at each other and know they just had to do it," head coach Andrew Palileo said. "Our veteran players made some big digs and Kaleigh had a nice dump. She's been working on that and it was good to see her pull it off."
Kaleigh Skopal had the match winning point which she gently laid back over the net. Skopal had a new season high with 51 assists.
"It was great to bounce back and validate what we did against Pepperdine last night," Skopal said. "We had to rely on each other and we had a lot of energy, kept each other going."
Sarah Haeussler and Alysha Johnson had big games at the net. Haeussler assisted on six blocks and had 17 kills. Johnson assisted on eight blocks with six kills. Haeussler's kill mark led the team.
"Sarah had a huge game," Palileo said. "I was happy for Alysha. It was good to see her play like that. That's just how she is, always smiling and she keeps our energy high."
Valerie Valerian stepped up with 15 kills of her own. The last time the Mean Green got off to a 2-1 start, North Texas won the Conference USA Regular Season title and set a record in wins with 29, reaching the National Invitational Volleyball Championship.
Next, North Texas is at No. 23 Cal Poly for a tournament Sept. 5-7. Valerian hopes she and her teammates can ride the wave two wins to close the weekend provided.
"It's very important overall," Valerian said. "We got the momentum on our side. It's important we use this and build on it."
All-Tournament Team
Kaleigh Skopal, North Texas (MVP)
Valerie Valerian, North Texas
Sarah Haeussler, North Texas
Taylor Horsfall, Tulsa
Sydney Holt, Illinois State
Kaylee Martin, Illinois State
Tarah Wylie, Pepperdine
North Texas (2-1) won sets one and two handily before having to claw back in set four after dropping set three. Tulsa led 22-20 as Barbara Teakell set up to serve. The Mean Green allowed just one more point while racking up five to take the set and the match.
"I had no timeouts, so they had to look at each other and know they just had to do it," head coach Andrew Palileo said. "Our veteran players made some big digs and Kaleigh had a nice dump. She's been working on that and it was good to see her pull it off."
Kaleigh Skopal had the match winning point which she gently laid back over the net. Skopal had a new season high with 51 assists.
"It was great to bounce back and validate what we did against Pepperdine last night," Skopal said. "We had to rely on each other and we had a lot of energy, kept each other going."
Sarah Haeussler and Alysha Johnson had big games at the net. Haeussler assisted on six blocks and had 17 kills. Johnson assisted on eight blocks with six kills. Haeussler's kill mark led the team.
"Sarah had a huge game," Palileo said. "I was happy for Alysha. It was good to see her play like that. That's just how she is, always smiling and she keeps our energy high."
Valerie Valerian stepped up with 15 kills of her own. The last time the Mean Green got off to a 2-1 start, North Texas won the Conference USA Regular Season title and set a record in wins with 29, reaching the National Invitational Volleyball Championship.
Next, North Texas is at No. 23 Cal Poly for a tournament Sept. 5-7. Valerian hopes she and her teammates can ride the wave two wins to close the weekend provided.
"It's very important overall," Valerian said. "We got the momentum on our side. It's important we use this and build on it."
All-Tournament Team
Kaleigh Skopal, North Texas (MVP)
Valerie Valerian, North Texas
Sarah Haeussler, North Texas
Taylor Horsfall, Tulsa
Sydney Holt, Illinois State
Kaylee Martin, Illinois State
Tarah Wylie, Pepperdine
Team Stats
Tulsa
UNT
Kills
53
58
Errors
29
17
Attempts
161
146
Hitting %
.149
.281
Points
65
74
Assists
50
53
Aces
4
2
Blocks
8
14
Game Leaders
Kills
15
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
15
Aces
0
Blocks
6
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
8
Players Mentioned
MB
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
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