MGVB 2020-21 Season Preview

It has been 415 days since the Mean Green last took the court for a regular season match. On Friday, Jan. 22, that drought will end. North Texas will kick off the 2020-21 regular season against metroplex rival SMU with a 6 p.m. match at the North Texas Volleyball Center.

The UNT volleyball 2017 recruiting class – Barbara Martin, Henrianna Ibarra, Valerie Valerian, Miranda Youmans – and Kaliegh Skopal (2018 transfer) have been a staple in the turnaround of the Mean Green volleyball program. The group of five have an overall record of 65-32 since their arrival in Denton. Those 65 wins are tied for the most wins in a three-year span in program history (2012-14). The .670 winning percentage this group boasts is the highest in program history.

The Mean Green return 10 letterwinners from a 2019 squad that went 17-11 and posted a 10-4 mark in C-USA play. The returning starters from 2019 are Kaliegh Skopal, Barbara Martin, Rhett Robinson and Sarah Haeussler.

North Texas will also gain a vital piece to its rotation with the return of redshirt junior Henrianna Ibarra. Ibarra missed both the 2018 and 2019 seasons with season-ending knee injuries. As a freshman in 2017, the San Antonio-native started at libero and recorded a team-high 320 digs. Ibarra ranked fourth all-time among Mean Green freshmen in the rally era (since 2001) in digs and aces (24) during 2017.

Skopal, who led the Mean Green with 874 assists during 2019, is making a near-improbable return to the floor for North Texas. During a road trip to Florida International in Nov. 2019, Skopal was diagnosed with Guillain Barre Syndrome, a rare disorder that causes your immune system to attack your nerves.

The senior setter could not open her hands for months after the diagnosis, and daily activities such as walking to the kitchen became a challenge. However, after eight months of hard work and physical therapy, Skopal will start at setter for the Mean Green on Friday against SMU.

In 2019, Skopal was named Conference USA Setter of the Week three times (09/16, 10/07, 10/21). She was one of just two student-athletes to win the award three times in 2019. The senior from Round Rock, Texas was the NCAA leader for assists in a three-set match during the first month of the season after tallying 49 assists in a 3-0 win over Prairie View A&M. Despite her season ending abruptly, Skopal led Conference USA with 12.58 assists-per-set.

Mean Green Sports will have more with Skopal's story on Thursday, Jan. 21. Tune back to www.meangreensports.com for more information.

Last Thursday, Conference USA announced the Preseason Poll and the C-USA All-Preseason Team. North Texas was picked to finish second in the C-USA West Division. Junior outside hitter Rhett Robinson was the only member of the Mean Green to be named to the C-USA All-Preseason Team.

Robinson is the Mean Green's leading returner in kills with 264. After suffering an injury in nonconference play during 2019, Robinson tallied 186 kills in league play, which was good for sixth in all of Conference USA.

North Texas opens the season this weekend with back-to-back matches on Friday and Saturday against SMU. In other nonconference matches, the Mean Green will split a home-and-home series with No. 6 Baylor and [RV] Texas State, while hosting Texas Tech on Mar. 17.

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Players Mentioned

Sarah Haeussler

Henrianna Ibarra

Barbara Martin

Rhett Robinson

Kaliegh Skopal

Valerie Valerian

Miranda Youmans

Upcoming Events

University of North Texas Athletics