Saturday, November 19
Bowling Green, KY
Noon CT
University of North Texas
-1615,95 CUSA
0
at
3
No. 20 WKU
-282,140 CUSA
1
2
3
F
North Texas
14
16
19
0
Western Ky.
25
25
25
3
Volleyball Falls in C-USA Semifinal
11/19/2022 4:16:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – UNT volleyball finished its season with a 3-0 loss to No. 20 WKU in the Conference USA semifinals on Saturday.
The Mean Green (16-15, 9-5) were defeated in straight sets by the Hilltoppers (28-2, 14-0), 14-25, 16-25, 19-25, to end its 10-year stint in C-USA, moving to the American Athletic Conference in 2023.
"Today was a hard day, especially for our seniors," Porter said. "We knew that we would have to play our best match of the season but just fell short. I am proud of the growth of our team and excited to have an off season with this roster of players. I think we learned some valuable lessons this year and are on our way to building a championship-caliber program."
All-conference selection Aryn Johnson recorded a team-high 10 kills, adding four digs, one block and an assist. Treyaunna Rush hit at a .500 clip, tallying nine kills on 16 attacks with a solo block and a dig.
Sh'Diamond Holly contributed six kills on 12 attacks and added two blocks to push her total blocks mark to 153. She finishes the year second in UNT single-season history with 123 block assists and fourth in total stops.
Senior Aleeyah Galdeira tallied 10 digs to solidify her fourth-place position on the North Texas career digs list with a final mark of 1,352.
Set 1: The two teams traded points in the opening moments of the match with the home side pulling ahead at 8-4. North Texas would cut the lead down to two at 10-8 with Truli Levy, Avery McCrillis and Holly all collecting kills. The Hilltoppers would limit UNT for the remainder of the frame to win 25-14.
Set 2: North Texas faced early adversity in the second set with head coach Kristee Porter calling a timeout when down by six points. Her team countered with a 4-1 run to cut the deficit to 11-8 with Taylor Litteken contributing a kill and combining with McCrillis for a block. WKU unleashed a furious spell that pushed the frame within two points of victory. Johnson countered with four consecutive kills to give UNT hope to close the gap. The Hilltoppers held off the charge to take the second set 25-16.
Set 3: The Mean Green were able to answer each point the host posted, holding level at 8-8 with Rush collecting four kills in the opening moments of the third. Western Kentucky built a seven-point lead late in the frame but Holly and McCrillis refused to let the match slip away. The pair combined to collect two kills, a block and an ace to cut the WKU lead to 20-16. Rush would tally two additional kills, but the top seeded Tops won the third set 25-19 to take the match.
North Texas finished the season with 16 wins, the most since posting a 17-11 record in 2019. Porter recorded nine conference victories, the second-most for a first-year head coach in program history and led UNT to its first conference tournament victory since 2018.
"I'm proud of the effort and improvement over the course of the past few months," Porter added. "Our key performers are returning next season with more experience and we're also adding some vital pieces. They've had a taste of competing against some really talented teams and have held their own. I think next season we turn some of those five-set losses into wins and we compete on a higher level from the start."
The Mean Green (16-15, 9-5) were defeated in straight sets by the Hilltoppers (28-2, 14-0), 14-25, 16-25, 19-25, to end its 10-year stint in C-USA, moving to the American Athletic Conference in 2023.
"Today was a hard day, especially for our seniors," Porter said. "We knew that we would have to play our best match of the season but just fell short. I am proud of the growth of our team and excited to have an off season with this roster of players. I think we learned some valuable lessons this year and are on our way to building a championship-caliber program."
All-conference selection Aryn Johnson recorded a team-high 10 kills, adding four digs, one block and an assist. Treyaunna Rush hit at a .500 clip, tallying nine kills on 16 attacks with a solo block and a dig.
Sh'Diamond Holly contributed six kills on 12 attacks and added two blocks to push her total blocks mark to 153. She finishes the year second in UNT single-season history with 123 block assists and fourth in total stops.
Senior Aleeyah Galdeira tallied 10 digs to solidify her fourth-place position on the North Texas career digs list with a final mark of 1,352.
Set 1: The two teams traded points in the opening moments of the match with the home side pulling ahead at 8-4. North Texas would cut the lead down to two at 10-8 with Truli Levy, Avery McCrillis and Holly all collecting kills. The Hilltoppers would limit UNT for the remainder of the frame to win 25-14.
Set 2: North Texas faced early adversity in the second set with head coach Kristee Porter calling a timeout when down by six points. Her team countered with a 4-1 run to cut the deficit to 11-8 with Taylor Litteken contributing a kill and combining with McCrillis for a block. WKU unleashed a furious spell that pushed the frame within two points of victory. Johnson countered with four consecutive kills to give UNT hope to close the gap. The Hilltoppers held off the charge to take the second set 25-16.
Set 3: The Mean Green were able to answer each point the host posted, holding level at 8-8 with Rush collecting four kills in the opening moments of the third. Western Kentucky built a seven-point lead late in the frame but Holly and McCrillis refused to let the match slip away. The pair combined to collect two kills, a block and an ace to cut the WKU lead to 20-16. Rush would tally two additional kills, but the top seeded Tops won the third set 25-19 to take the match.
North Texas finished the season with 16 wins, the most since posting a 17-11 record in 2019. Porter recorded nine conference victories, the second-most for a first-year head coach in program history and led UNT to its first conference tournament victory since 2018.
"I'm proud of the effort and improvement over the course of the past few months," Porter added. "Our key performers are returning next season with more experience and we're also adding some vital pieces. They've had a taste of competing against some really talented teams and have held their own. I think next season we turn some of those five-set losses into wins and we compete on a higher level from the start."
Team Stats
UNT
WestKy
Kills
34
49
Errors
11
6
Attempts
86
87
Hitting %
.267
.494
Points
40
61
Assists
30
42
Aces
2
7
Blocks
4
5
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
5
Aces
2
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
L/DS
/ Women's VolleyballM
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
OPP
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's VolleyballOPP
/ Women's VolleyballOPP
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