Carnae Dillard gets into record book, volleyball splits weekend
Ehsan Azad / Staff Writer
The Mean Green volleyball team split its weekend matches, beating University of North Carolina at Charlotte on Friday and losing a thriller to Marshall University on Sunday.
Sophomore outside hitter Carnae Dillard’s career-high 31 kills against Marshall put her in sole possession of the eighth place in the UNT volleyball program’s all-time kills.
Charlotte
UNT (12-10, 4-2) opened the weekend with a win over Charlotte University in three straight sets (29-27, 25-15, 25-22), giving the team its fourth conference win and keeping it undefeated at home. Celebrating the annual Dig Pink night – a breast cancer awareness event – at the Mean Green volleyball gym, the team would use a dominant second set to seal the win.
Head coach Andrew Palileo was pleased with the effort but wanted more emphasis on the defensive side of the ball.
“Our defense was a little shaky, but we played at the level we needed to play at,” Dillard said.
Dillard, playing in honor of her mother dealing with breast cancer, had 14 kills and put her in the top-10 list of the program’s all-time kills. Senior middle blocker Karissa Flack added 11 kills and three blocks.
Marshall
On Sunday afternoon, UNT lost to Marshall University in an up-and-down contest in four sets (25-21, 19-25, 23-25, 24-26). The Mean Green took the first set, but dropped the second and third sets after slow starts.
“We played similarly to what we did Friday night, except we played a better team and it hurt us,” Palileo said.
Entering the fourth set, the Mean Green held a 24-22 lead and was one point away from winning. Crucial passing errors helped Marshall tie it up and win the match.
“Marshall came out with more energy than we did today,” Palileo said.
Dillard’s 31 kills helped her net the eightth all-time spot for kills. Senior outside hitter Courtney Windham was limited in a return from injury, posting just two kills. She injured her ankle in practice two weekends prior to the match.
“It was a lot quicker and we made more errors and that’s how we fell apart,” freshman setter Amy Henard said. “We need to learn how to match a team’s level and go higher than that.”
The team goes on the road this weekend when it faces University of Alabama at Birmingham and University of Texas at San Antonio over the weekend.
Sophomore outside hitter Carnae Dillard spikes the ball during a home game against Marshall on Sunday. Feature photo by Margaret Saucedo / Intern
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