Monday, February 22
DENTON
1 PM
University of North Texas
-45,13 CUSA
3
vs
0
[RV] Texas State
25-3,15-1Sun Belt
1
2
3
F
Texas St.
22
17
22
0
North Texas
25
25
25
3
Photo by: Manny Flores
Volleyball dominates in sweep over Texas State
2/22/2021 4:09:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
DENTON – The North Texas volleyball team entered Monday afternoon's matchup with Texas State (25-3, Sun Belt champs) as underdogs. However, that didn't matter to the Mean Green.
North Texas swept the Bobcats in three straight sets (25-22, 25-17, 25-22) to pull off the upset at the North Texas Volleyball Center.
"We just continue to improve week-by-week," head coach Andrew Palileo said. "Our defense stepped up again, and I'm really excited about the progress we've made over the last two weeks. Our team just continues to fight and work hard, and that showed today in a really big win for us."
North Texas handed Texas State -- who received 21 votes in the most recent ACVA Top 25 poll -- its first road loss of the 2020-21 season. The Bobcats entered the contest 15-0 on the road. The Mean Green are now 3-1 against Texas State under Palileo.
The Mean Green finished with 12 blocks in just three sets, including seven blocks from Sarah Haeussler. The junior middle blocker has racked up more than six blocks in each of the past three contests.
Miranda Youmans tied a season-high in blocks with four, while freshman Kenzie Smith also tied a season-high with three blocks.
"During the week, we talked about getting a lot more touches at the net to take the speed off the ball," Haeussler said. "We really focused on our game plan, we stuck to our game plan and that helped us pull off a big win today."
Barbara Martin led the Mean Green with 11 kills and nine digs, including a team-high .296 attack percentage. Martin also finished with a career-high five aces.
The serve-receive game has been crucial for UNT in 2020-21, and the Mean Green dominated that part of the match against the Bobcats. North Texas finished with seven aces and just two service errors, while Texas State made 10 service errors and seven receive errors.
"This whole team continues to respond with our backs against the wall," Martin said. "I'm so proud of our team…Our defense came up huge today with clutch blocks and digs. We just have to keep working in the gym and continue the momentum we have right now."
In the first set, North Texas stunned the Sun Belt champion Bobcats, as a block and kill from Martin gave UNT a 9-7 lead. After Texas State regained the lead, the Mean Green closed the first set on an 8-1 run for a 25-22 opening set victory.
After dominating the second set 25-17, the Mean Green and Bobcats went back-and-forth in a tightly contested third set. With Texas State leading 18-17, North Texas scored four consecutive points to force a timeout and take a 21-18 lead. Several plays later, Martin capped off the sweep with a kill that deflected off a Bobcat blocker.
Up Next: North Texas travels to Baylor to take on the No. 6 Bears at the Ferrell Center on Friday, Feb. 26 at 6 p.m.
North Texas swept the Bobcats in three straight sets (25-22, 25-17, 25-22) to pull off the upset at the North Texas Volleyball Center.
"We just continue to improve week-by-week," head coach Andrew Palileo said. "Our defense stepped up again, and I'm really excited about the progress we've made over the last two weeks. Our team just continues to fight and work hard, and that showed today in a really big win for us."
North Texas handed Texas State -- who received 21 votes in the most recent ACVA Top 25 poll -- its first road loss of the 2020-21 season. The Bobcats entered the contest 15-0 on the road. The Mean Green are now 3-1 against Texas State under Palileo.
The Mean Green finished with 12 blocks in just three sets, including seven blocks from Sarah Haeussler. The junior middle blocker has racked up more than six blocks in each of the past three contests.
Miranda Youmans tied a season-high in blocks with four, while freshman Kenzie Smith also tied a season-high with three blocks.
"During the week, we talked about getting a lot more touches at the net to take the speed off the ball," Haeussler said. "We really focused on our game plan, we stuck to our game plan and that helped us pull off a big win today."
Barbara Martin led the Mean Green with 11 kills and nine digs, including a team-high .296 attack percentage. Martin also finished with a career-high five aces.
The serve-receive game has been crucial for UNT in 2020-21, and the Mean Green dominated that part of the match against the Bobcats. North Texas finished with seven aces and just two service errors, while Texas State made 10 service errors and seven receive errors.
"This whole team continues to respond with our backs against the wall," Martin said. "I'm so proud of our team…Our defense came up huge today with clutch blocks and digs. We just have to keep working in the gym and continue the momentum we have right now."
In the first set, North Texas stunned the Sun Belt champion Bobcats, as a block and kill from Martin gave UNT a 9-7 lead. After Texas State regained the lead, the Mean Green closed the first set on an 8-1 run for a 25-22 opening set victory.
After dominating the second set 25-17, the Mean Green and Bobcats went back-and-forth in a tightly contested third set. With Texas State leading 18-17, North Texas scored four consecutive points to force a timeout and take a 21-18 lead. Several plays later, Martin capped off the sweep with a kill that deflected off a Bobcat blocker.
Up Next: North Texas travels to Baylor to take on the No. 6 Bears at the Ferrell Center on Friday, Feb. 26 at 6 p.m.
Team Stats
TXST
UNT
Kills
41
34
Errors
20
14
Attempts
107
89
Hitting %
.196
.225
Points
50
53
Assists
36
29
Aces
4
7
Blocks
5
12
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
11
Aces
5
Blocks
2
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
7
Kills
4
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Players Mentioned
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's VolleyballOlympic Village Facility Reveal | Mean Green VB + S&D
Tuesday, May 06
Broadcast Highlights vs Rice | Mean Green Volleyball
Monday, November 18
Broadcast Highlights vs Tulsa | Mean Green Volleyball
Saturday, October 19
Broadcast Highlights vs UTSA | Mean Green Volleyball
Sunday, October 13