Monday, March 15
DENTON
1 PM
University of North Texas
-89,46 CUSA
3
vs
1
Louisiana Tech
-117,010 CUSA
1
2
3
4
F
Louisiana Tech
11
12
25
23
1
North Texas
25
25
23
25
3
Photo by: Manny Flores
Robinson, offense shine in 3-1 win over La Tech
3/15/2021 4:01:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
DENTON – Junior Rhett Robinson was named to the 2020-21 Conference USA All-Preseason Team prior to the season. On Monday afternoon against Louisiana Tech, the local talent showed why.
Robinson notched 24 kills and a .632 attack percentage during a 3-1 win (25-11, 25-12, 23-25, 25-23) over the Lady Techsters. Robinson's .632 attack percentage ranks fourth in program history in the rally era (since 1999, min. 20 attacks). The junior outside hitter also surpassed 900 career kills, the 12th player in program history to reach the 900 mark.
"We've been trying to hit more efficient," Robinson said. "Today, especially in the first two sets, everything was in sync. We were passing well, Kaliegh was setting great balls and all of our hitters were finding open spots."
The Mean Green have now won 14 consecutive meetings against the Lady Techsters, and head coach Andrew Palileo improved to 14-0 all-time against Louisiana Tech. North Texas has not lost to La Tech since 2006.
"I thought we played a very clean match through the first two sets," Palileo said. "We were playing really hard before we lost a little bit of momentum in the third set, but it was nice to see our girls rebound the way they did in the fourth set to get the win."
Just one day after hitting .432, the Mean Green put together another efficient offensive attack on Monday with a .442 hitting percentage. In addition to Robinson's stellar afternoon, Valerie Valerian totaled 13 kills, 11 digs and a .391 attack percentage. Valerian moved into seventh in program history in career digs (1,063), surpassing Shelby Tamura.
"Val coming back has helped us tremendously," Robinson said. "It's been nice to have that good chemistry back on the court. She's very reliable, and one of the best hitters to ever go through this program."
Setter Kaliegh Skopal tallied 48 assists in the win, while Henrianna Ibarra notched 10 digs. Sarah Haeussler, the C-USA leader in blocks, led the team with five blocks along with eight kills on 12 attacks.
North Texas dominated the first two sets and was even hitting an impressive .600 in a 25-11 first set victory.
During the fourth and final set, North Texas went down 10-14 before battling back and going on an 8-0 run to take a four-point lead. Several plays later with the Mean Green at set point, Robinson received a set from Skopal and slammed the ball on the Louisiana Tech side of the net for the win.
Up Next: North Texas will square off with Texas Tech on Wednesday in the final home match of the 2020-21 season. The Mean Green and Red Raiders are set to square off at 5 p.m.
Team Stats
LATech
UNT
Kills
46
67
Errors
22
14
Attempts
126
120
Hitting %
.190
.442
Points
56
80
Assists
40
59
Aces
4
4
Blocks
6
9
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
24
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Kills
7
Aces
3
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
DS/L
/ Women's Volleyball
MB/OH
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
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