Volleyball defeats Southern Miss in straight sets
North Texas senior outside hitter Carnae Dillard (5) celebrates with teammates after a score. Colin Mitchell | Intern Photographer
Clay Massey | Staff Writer
The Mean Green volleyball team took care of the University of Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles in three sets despite 26 errors on the night. Senior Carnae Dillard racked up 18 kills, falling just four kills short of setting a new program record.
“I thought we played well,” head coach Andrew Palileo said. “Southern Miss is a good defensive team and part of what we were trying to do was just keep up with them defensivel. The whole gameplan was to try and get Carnae what she needs, but at the same time not lose focus because we want the win more than the record.”
After trailing early in the first set, the Mean Green fought back due in part to Southern Miss’ nine errors in the first set. Amanda Chamberlain and Alexis Wright led the way early in kills with four each, leading the Mean Green to a 25-22 first set win.
North Texas sophomore middle blocker Holly Milam (10) attempts to kill the ball. Colin Mitchell | Intern Photographer
Set two looked to be a breeze for the Mean Green early, but the Golden Eagles scrapped back into set two. A Chamberlain error gave Southern Miss the momentary lead at 15-14, but she would tie it back up with a kill on the next play at 15-15. Holly Milam stepped up for the Mean Green with five kills in frame two, and Dillard started to heat up picking up eight kills in the set leading North Texas to a 25-21 win in set two.
“I think we all came together and played well” Milam said. “We had a game plan, and I think we executed it pretty well. I think we all just wanted to get Carnae to her big goal, but now we have the next game to do that.”
The Mean Green almost let the third set get away from them, as they allowed the Golden Eagles to score six straight points and take a 20-19 lead late. North Texas called a timeout and came out reinvigorated, led by Chelsea Abii taking set three 25-23.
Abii set a new season high in hit percentage at .429, making the night one of her best offensive performances of the season.
“I think we executed really good at home,” Dillard said. “We did what we had to do. We took care of it.”
The Mean Green return to action on November 6th, when they face Florida Atlantic University in Florida.
Featured Image: North Texas senior outside hitter Carnae Dillard (5) celebrates with teammates after a score. Colin Mitchell | Intern Photographer
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