Saturday, February 13
SAN ANTONIO, TX
8 PM
University of North Texas
-34,12 CUSA
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UTSA
-25,01 CUSA
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North Texas
25
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UTSA
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Photo by: Manny Flores
Mean Green defeat UTSA in five-set thriller
2/13/2021 11:05:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
SAN ANTONIO – The Mean Green volleyball team's defense came ready to play on Saturday night. After moving the game to an abnormal 8 p.m. start due to weather conditions, North Texas recorded 112 digs and 15 total blocks en route to defeating UTSA 3-2 (25-23, 21-25, 25-19, 25-27, 15-13) for the program's first win at the Convocation Center since 1995.
North Texas improved to 3-4 and 1-2 in Conference USA on the season, while UTSA now sits at 2-5 and 0-1 in league play.
"I'm excited for our girls," head coach Andrew Palileo said. "They have been working hard the last couple practices, and after a little bit of time off, they came back ready to go to validate that win we had on Thursday night. We just continued to fight and gave ourselves chances to win with our effort tonight."
The Mean Green's 112 digs are tied for the most digs in program history in a match that went five sets. Aleeyah Galdeira led the way with a career-high 31 digs, which is the fifth-most in a five-set match in program history. Henrianna Ibarra, the San Antonio-native, surpassed 400 career digs on the night.
Five Mean Green players finished with double-figures in digs: Galdeira, Ibarra, Martin, Kaliegh Skopal and Kasey Bortnem.
Sarah Haeussler led the defense on the front row with nine blocks, which finished just one short of a career-high for the junior middle blocker. Haeussler added six kills and a .429 attack percentage. The Aledo, Texas-native has hit above .425 in three of the last four matches.
Rhett Robinson and Barbara Martin continued their recent tear. Robinson finished with 21 kills and six blocks, while Martin had her second double-double of the season with 16 kills and 22 digs. Skopal finished with season-highs of 47 assists and 17 digs.
The Mean Green took advantage of 18 service errors by the Roadrunners. In addition to seven aces, North Texas finished with zero reception errors for the first time this season, putting the stamp on an improved serve-receive game that plagued the Mean Green early in the season.
"We've improved so much over the last couple weeks," Galdeira said. "Whether it is offensively, defensively or serve-receive, we have improved. It's important that we continue to improve as the season goes on, and that starts tomorrow when we play UTSA again."
After North Texas went up 2-1 in the match, the Mean Green had a chance to win in the fourth set. North Texas was at match point with a 24-22 lead before the Roadrunners scored back-to-back points to tie the match. UTSA wound up winning the set 27-25 to force the decisive fifth set.
In the final set, UNT jumped out to a 3-1 lead thanks to kills by Robinson and Miranda Youmans. A crucial 4-0 run in the middle of the set propelled the Mean Green to a 7-4 lead. North Texas never relinquished the lead again, and a service error from UTSA gave the Mean Green a 15-13 victory in the fifth set.
"It was a great game," Palileo said. "Both teams made some mistakes, and both teams played well. It just so happened that they made the last mistake of the night."
Up Next: North Texas will be back at the Convocation Center for a quick turnaround. The Mean Green and Roadrunners will play on Sunday at 1 p.m.
North Texas improved to 3-4 and 1-2 in Conference USA on the season, while UTSA now sits at 2-5 and 0-1 in league play.
"I'm excited for our girls," head coach Andrew Palileo said. "They have been working hard the last couple practices, and after a little bit of time off, they came back ready to go to validate that win we had on Thursday night. We just continued to fight and gave ourselves chances to win with our effort tonight."
The Mean Green's 112 digs are tied for the most digs in program history in a match that went five sets. Aleeyah Galdeira led the way with a career-high 31 digs, which is the fifth-most in a five-set match in program history. Henrianna Ibarra, the San Antonio-native, surpassed 400 career digs on the night.
Five Mean Green players finished with double-figures in digs: Galdeira, Ibarra, Martin, Kaliegh Skopal and Kasey Bortnem.
Sarah Haeussler led the defense on the front row with nine blocks, which finished just one short of a career-high for the junior middle blocker. Haeussler added six kills and a .429 attack percentage. The Aledo, Texas-native has hit above .425 in three of the last four matches.
Rhett Robinson and Barbara Martin continued their recent tear. Robinson finished with 21 kills and six blocks, while Martin had her second double-double of the season with 16 kills and 22 digs. Skopal finished with season-highs of 47 assists and 17 digs.
The Mean Green took advantage of 18 service errors by the Roadrunners. In addition to seven aces, North Texas finished with zero reception errors for the first time this season, putting the stamp on an improved serve-receive game that plagued the Mean Green early in the season.
"We've improved so much over the last couple weeks," Galdeira said. "Whether it is offensively, defensively or serve-receive, we have improved. It's important that we continue to improve as the season goes on, and that starts tomorrow when we play UTSA again."
After North Texas went up 2-1 in the match, the Mean Green had a chance to win in the fourth set. North Texas was at match point with a 24-22 lead before the Roadrunners scored back-to-back points to tie the match. UTSA wound up winning the set 27-25 to force the decisive fifth set.
In the final set, UNT jumped out to a 3-1 lead thanks to kills by Robinson and Miranda Youmans. A crucial 4-0 run in the middle of the set propelled the Mean Green to a 7-4 lead. North Texas never relinquished the lead again, and a service error from UTSA gave the Mean Green a 15-13 victory in the fifth set.
"It was a great game," Palileo said. "Both teams made some mistakes, and both teams played well. It just so happened that they made the last mistake of the night."
Up Next: North Texas will be back at the Convocation Center for a quick turnaround. The Mean Green and Roadrunners will play on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Team Stats
UNT
UTSA
Kills
56
60
Errors
31
28
Attempts
170
210
Hitting %
.147
.152
Points
77
76
Assists
54
58
Aces
6
4
Blocks
15
12
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
21
Aces
0
Blocks
6
Kills
17
Aces
1
Blocks
2
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
6
Aces
1
Blocks
9
Players Mentioned
DS/S
/ Women's Volleyball
DS
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
DS/L
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
MB/OH
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
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