University of North Texas Athletics
Friday, March 12
DENTON
6 PM
University of North Texas
vs
No. 6 Baylor
Mean Green host No. 6 Baylor on Friday
3/11/2021 12:07:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
DENTON – The North Texas Mean Green volleyball team will be searching for an upset when they host No. 6 Baylor on Friday, March 12 at 6 p.m. Below is what you need to know for tomorrow's match.
About the Mean Green: The Mean Green are entering a four-match homestand at the North Texas Volleyball Center, starting with Friday's match against the Bears. In the next six days, the Mean Green will play Baylor, Louisiana Tech twice and Texas Tech. North Texas has a 5-3 home record in 2020-21 and have an all-time home record of 80-32 under head coach Andrew Palileo.
The Mean Green and Palileo bolstered their nonconference slate by by scheduling four matches with three different Big 12 squads in 2020-21. North Texas already lost at Baylor on Feb. 26 before knocking off Oklahoma 3-1 on March 4.
Senior outside hitter Valerie Valerian made her return to the court for North Texas against Rice last weekend. Valerian was away on an accounting internship that she accepted in fall 2020. Valerian ranks sixth in program history in kills (1,301) and eighth in digs (1,045). The reigning AVCA All-Southwest Region Team member will help a Mean Green offensive attack that is hitting .194 this season.
Mean Green leaders: Rhett Robinson leads the Mean Green with 246 kills in 2020-21, including a single-game career-high 29 kills at Rice on March 7. In addition to serving as the Mean Green's primary offensive threat, Robinson has recorded at least five blocks in four of the last six matches.
Kaliegh Skopal has 526 assists on the season and 1,971 career assists in her four years spent at Loyola-Chicago and North Texas. Aleeyah Galdeira continues to lead the team in digs with 208, while Sarah Haeussler has accounted for 56.0 blocks.
Milestones to watch: Robinson needs just 10 kills on Friday to become the 12th player in program history to reach 900 career kills…Valerie Valerian is 17 digs away from moving into seventh in program history in career digs (1,062)…Henrianna Ibarra is 22 digs away from 500 career digs, which would put both liberos on the roster over the 500 mark…Miranda Youmans' .277 career attack percentage ranks seventh all-time in program history (min. 500 attacks).
Scouting the Bears: Baylor (16-4, 13-3 Big 12) has been ranked No. 6 in the AVCA Top 25 poll since the beginning of the 2021 calendar year. The Bears were also participants of the 2019 Final Four.
After playing its Big 12 Conference slate in the fall, the Bears are 3-1 in the spring portion of the season. Baylor has wins over North Texas, Texas State and Pepperdine, while losing at No. 1 Texas on March 3.
Yossiana Pressley, who is a reigning All-American and will travel with Team USA to the 2021 Olympic Games, ranks third in the nation with 342 kills. Middle blocker Kara McGhee ranks fourth in the country in total blocks with 85.0.
Series history: Baylor leads the all-time series 21-8 dating back to the first meeting in 1979. The Mean Green have a 3-8 record when they meet in Denton. North Texas has dropped the last five matchups against Baylor, and the Mean Green's last win over the Bears came in 2012. The last time these two teams met up was at the Ferrell Center on Feb. 26, 2021, with the Bears defeating the Mean Green 0-3 (16-25, 17-25, 13-25).
Where to Watch: The match can be streamed at https://conferenceusa.com/watch/default.aspx?Live=13759.
Up Next: The Mean Green will play its second and third matches of the homestand when they host Louisiana Tech on Sunday, March 14 and Monday, March 15. Both matches are scheduled for a 1 p.m. start.
About the Mean Green: The Mean Green are entering a four-match homestand at the North Texas Volleyball Center, starting with Friday's match against the Bears. In the next six days, the Mean Green will play Baylor, Louisiana Tech twice and Texas Tech. North Texas has a 5-3 home record in 2020-21 and have an all-time home record of 80-32 under head coach Andrew Palileo.
The Mean Green and Palileo bolstered their nonconference slate by by scheduling four matches with three different Big 12 squads in 2020-21. North Texas already lost at Baylor on Feb. 26 before knocking off Oklahoma 3-1 on March 4.
Senior outside hitter Valerie Valerian made her return to the court for North Texas against Rice last weekend. Valerian was away on an accounting internship that she accepted in fall 2020. Valerian ranks sixth in program history in kills (1,301) and eighth in digs (1,045). The reigning AVCA All-Southwest Region Team member will help a Mean Green offensive attack that is hitting .194 this season.
Mean Green leaders: Rhett Robinson leads the Mean Green with 246 kills in 2020-21, including a single-game career-high 29 kills at Rice on March 7. In addition to serving as the Mean Green's primary offensive threat, Robinson has recorded at least five blocks in four of the last six matches.
Kaliegh Skopal has 526 assists on the season and 1,971 career assists in her four years spent at Loyola-Chicago and North Texas. Aleeyah Galdeira continues to lead the team in digs with 208, while Sarah Haeussler has accounted for 56.0 blocks.
Milestones to watch: Robinson needs just 10 kills on Friday to become the 12th player in program history to reach 900 career kills…Valerie Valerian is 17 digs away from moving into seventh in program history in career digs (1,062)…Henrianna Ibarra is 22 digs away from 500 career digs, which would put both liberos on the roster over the 500 mark…Miranda Youmans' .277 career attack percentage ranks seventh all-time in program history (min. 500 attacks).
Scouting the Bears: Baylor (16-4, 13-3 Big 12) has been ranked No. 6 in the AVCA Top 25 poll since the beginning of the 2021 calendar year. The Bears were also participants of the 2019 Final Four.
After playing its Big 12 Conference slate in the fall, the Bears are 3-1 in the spring portion of the season. Baylor has wins over North Texas, Texas State and Pepperdine, while losing at No. 1 Texas on March 3.
Yossiana Pressley, who is a reigning All-American and will travel with Team USA to the 2021 Olympic Games, ranks third in the nation with 342 kills. Middle blocker Kara McGhee ranks fourth in the country in total blocks with 85.0.
Series history: Baylor leads the all-time series 21-8 dating back to the first meeting in 1979. The Mean Green have a 3-8 record when they meet in Denton. North Texas has dropped the last five matchups against Baylor, and the Mean Green's last win over the Bears came in 2012. The last time these two teams met up was at the Ferrell Center on Feb. 26, 2021, with the Bears defeating the Mean Green 0-3 (16-25, 17-25, 13-25).
Where to Watch: The match can be streamed at https://conferenceusa.com/watch/default.aspx?Live=13759.
Up Next: The Mean Green will play its second and third matches of the homestand when they host Louisiana Tech on Sunday, March 14 and Monday, March 15. Both matches are scheduled for a 1 p.m. start.
Players Mentioned
DS
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
DS/L
/ Women's Volleyball
MB/OH
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
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