MGVB opens season at Wichita State

Calendar

Schedule

Sep 26

6 PM CT

Women's Volleyball

vs Charlotte

Sep 28

1 PM CT

Women's Volleyball

vs UAB

Oct 3

5 PM CT

Women's Volleyball

at Florida Atlantic

Oct 5

Noon CT

Women's Volleyball

at South Florida

WICHITA, KANSAS -- After 432 days without a regular season game, the North Texas volleyball team will finally return to the court when they travel to Wichita State for back-to-back games against the Shockers on Thursday, Feb. 4, at 7 p.m. and Friday, Feb. 5, at 1 p.m.

Both matches at the Charles Koch Arena will be televised on ESPN+, and you can listen at https://goshockers.com/watch/?Live=4885&type=Live.

This is the first time that the Mean Green will open their season in a true road match since 2004. The Mean Green are 5-2 in season openers in the last seven seasons under head coach Andrew Palileo.

Wichita State is off to a 3-0 start in the 2020-21 season. In a round robin tournament at Missouri State, the Shockers swept both South Dakota and Oral Roberts before taking down Missouri State in five sets. Wichita State is led by head coach Chris Lamb, who has compiled a 439-197 record in his 21st season with the Shockers.

North Texas and Wichita State last played each other in the 2019 Cal Poly Shareslo Mustang Challenge in San Luis Obispo, California, with the Shockers taking the match 3-1 (25-19, 21-25, 25-15, 25-21). Although Wichita State holds a 9-3 series lead, North Texas has a 3-2 record against the Shockers in the Palileo era.

The two squads also met up in the 2018 postseason, when North Texas hosted Wichita State in the Second Round of the 2018 National Invitational Volleyball Championship. The Mean Green won that postseason match 3-1 to advance to the NIVC quarterfinals.

Palileo is entering his eighth season as the Mean Green volleyball head coach. He has quickly turned into one of the most successful coaches to come through North Texas, as his 136 wins are more than any head coach in program history.

North Texas returns five of its six starters from a 2019 team that went 17-11 and 10-4 in Conference USA play. One of those starters, junior outside hitter Rhett Robinson, was named to the 2020-21 C-USA All-Preseason Team. Robinson is the Mean Green's leading returner in kills with 264, despite missing a month due to injury in the 2019 season.

The season-openers at Wichita State begin a grueling five-game stretch in the next eight days. After Wichita State, North Texas will return to Denton and open C-USA play against UAB on Feb. 4 and Feb. 5. The Mean Green will stay home for a nonconference home match against UT Arlington on Feb. 11.

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Rhett Robinson

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