Dillard sets UNT attack record in win over SFA
Brady Keane | Staff Writer
It took some time for North Texas to get going in the first set, but senior Carnae Dillard and the Mean Green volleyball team knocked off the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks in three straight sets Wednesday night (25-18, 25-16, 25-18).
With 35 attacks in the win, Dillard moved into first North Texas history with 4,935 attacks. Dillard passed Mean Green Hall-of-Famer Corina Marginas, who had held the record since 2003.
“I’m just so happy for her,” said junior setter Amy Henard. “She’s going to be very humble about it, but I know in the back of her head how much that much means to her. She works so hard, and she’s accomplished so much over the years.”
The win gave North Texas (6-6) its second straight win over SFA (6-6) and its fourth win in the last five meetings between the two schools.
The Mean Green was able to bounce back from home losses to the University of Houston and Boise State University in the North Texas Invitational last weekend, improving to 3-2 at home this season.
“Our goal this week was to be more creative, and play more like we did last year,” head coach Andrew Palileo said. “I thought the first ten matches or so were really stale in the way we were running things. We were flying around a little bit more today.”
Despite getting off to a slow start, the Mean Green was able to heat up behind a solid performance from Henard and went on to dominate the rest of the match. Henard finished with 43 assists for her eighth game and 30 or more assists this season, adding 10 digs for the Mean Green as well.
Although Henard had a strong game, it was an overall team victory for the Mean Green as Dillard, sophomore outside hitter Alexis Wright, sophomore middle blocker Amanda Chamberlain, freshman outside hitter Hannah Shaw and sophomore middle blocker Holly Milam all had productive offensive nights.
“We just played a great game of volleyball,” Dillard said. “They did a great job of stepping up and doing what we worked on in practice. I couldn’t have been happier.”
The Mean Green will look to carry the momentum to the Tulsa Volleyball Invitational from Sept. 18-19. North Texas will face off against Houston Baptist on Friday Sept. 18 before taking on Oral Roberts and Tulsa on Saturday Sept. 19.
“We just want to enjoy this one,” Palileo said. “Everyone has kind of been struggling and having doubts in their mind, so this was a good win for us. Hopefully we can carry it on.”
Featured Image: Carnae Dillard File Photo | North Texas Daily
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