Sunday, February 28
DENTON
1 PM
University of North Texas
-56,23 CUSA
3
vs
2
.png&width=60&height=60&type=webp)
UTEP
-44,32 CUSA
1
2
3
4
5
F
UTEP
24
25
25
25
12
2
North Texas
26
21
27
18
15
3
Photo by: Manny Flores
Mean Green outlast UTEP in five-set thriller
2/28/2021 5:28:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
DENTON – The Mean Green volleyball team outlasted UTEP in a thrilling five-set victory (26-24, 21-25, 27-25, 18-25, 15-12) on Sunday afternoon for an important win in the C-USA West Division race.
The Mean Green (5-6, 2-3 C-USA) moved a game closer to second place UTEP (4-4, 3-2 C-USA) in the Conference USA West standings. North Texas has now won 11 of the last 13 meetings against UTEP. Head coach Andrew Palileo improved to 9-1 against the Miners and 6-0 at home.
"I thought it was a good game," Palileo said. "Both offenses played pretty good, and it was right side [hitters] versus right sides. It was a grind-it-out match, and I'm glad we came out on top."
Rhett Robinson put together her best performance of the season, finishing with season-highs in kills (25) and attack percentage (.339). Robinson, the Preseason All-Conference USA selection, said it has been exciting to see how much the Mean Green have improved in the last three weeks.
"I thought it was a really good matchup," Robinson said. "We were a little behind on defense, and I think we could've ended the match a little sooner. Overall, our energy and enthusiasm really carried us today."
Senior Miranda Youmans also had a great day on the front row for the Mean Green. The senior middle blocker finished with a game-high eight blocks in addition to nine kills and a .471 hitting percentage.
Aleeyah Galdeira accomplished her first milestone, as the sophomore from Waimanalo, Hawaii surpassed 500 career digs. Galdeira is the fourth-fastest in program history to reach 500 digs.
In the third set, the Mean Green and Miners traded shots until UTEP took a 16-12 lead. North Texas responded with a 5-1 run – thanks to kills by Youmans and Avery McCrillis – to tie the set at 17-17.
Several plays later with the Miners at set point, North Texas went on a 3-0 run and capped off the third set with a Robinson kill for a 27-25 win.
"That third set was huge," Youmans said. "In a way, it felt like whoever won that close third set had a really good chance to win the match. I'm glad we found a way to string several points together and come out on top."
In the final set, North Texas captured all momentum when Barbara Martin served back-to-back aces to put the Mean Green up 11-7. Martin then ended the match with a kill to give the Mean Green a much-needed league victory.
Up Next: North Texas and UTEP will run it back on Monday at 1 p.m. at the North Texas Volleyball Center.
The Mean Green (5-6, 2-3 C-USA) moved a game closer to second place UTEP (4-4, 3-2 C-USA) in the Conference USA West standings. North Texas has now won 11 of the last 13 meetings against UTEP. Head coach Andrew Palileo improved to 9-1 against the Miners and 6-0 at home.
"I thought it was a good game," Palileo said. "Both offenses played pretty good, and it was right side [hitters] versus right sides. It was a grind-it-out match, and I'm glad we came out on top."
Rhett Robinson put together her best performance of the season, finishing with season-highs in kills (25) and attack percentage (.339). Robinson, the Preseason All-Conference USA selection, said it has been exciting to see how much the Mean Green have improved in the last three weeks.
"I thought it was a really good matchup," Robinson said. "We were a little behind on defense, and I think we could've ended the match a little sooner. Overall, our energy and enthusiasm really carried us today."
Senior Miranda Youmans also had a great day on the front row for the Mean Green. The senior middle blocker finished with a game-high eight blocks in addition to nine kills and a .471 hitting percentage.
Aleeyah Galdeira accomplished her first milestone, as the sophomore from Waimanalo, Hawaii surpassed 500 career digs. Galdeira is the fourth-fastest in program history to reach 500 digs.
"It's a great accomplishment, but I still have a lot left to accomplish in my career," Galdeira said. "I'm so grateful for my coaches and teammates for helping me achieve this milestone. I'm excited about the opportunity to continue working toward more milestones and victories for the Mean Green."
North Texas and UTEP traded the first two sets as both teams were on fire offensively, as both squads started off the match hitting above .350.In the third set, the Mean Green and Miners traded shots until UTEP took a 16-12 lead. North Texas responded with a 5-1 run – thanks to kills by Youmans and Avery McCrillis – to tie the set at 17-17.
Several plays later with the Miners at set point, North Texas went on a 3-0 run and capped off the third set with a Robinson kill for a 27-25 win.
"That third set was huge," Youmans said. "In a way, it felt like whoever won that close third set had a really good chance to win the match. I'm glad we found a way to string several points together and come out on top."
In the final set, North Texas captured all momentum when Barbara Martin served back-to-back aces to put the Mean Green up 11-7. Martin then ended the match with a kill to give the Mean Green a much-needed league victory.
Up Next: North Texas and UTEP will run it back on Monday at 1 p.m. at the North Texas Volleyball Center.
.png&width=84&height=84&quality=100&type=webp)
Team Stats
UTEP
UNT
Kills
77
51
Errors
29
18
Attempts
165
149
Hitting %
.291
.221
Points
92
69
Assists
75
45
Aces
8
6
Blocks
7
12
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
25
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
8
Kills
6
Aces
3
Blocks
4
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Players Mentioned
DS
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
MB/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