Volleyball skid continues with road loss to Charlotte
Middle blocker Amanda Chamberlain blocks a set by Boise State. Ryan Vance | Senior Staff Photographer
Brady Keane | Staff Writer
The North Texas volleyball team’s recent downhill slide continued on Sunday afternoon in Charlotte, as the Mean Green (14-11, 6-4) were unable to build any momentum and fell to the 49ers (7-17, 4-7) in straight sets (21-25, 21-25, 22-25).
After battling No. 22 Western Kentucky University just a week ago for first place in Conference USA, the Mean Green have quickly plummeted to the middle of the pack in the standings with three straight losses.
“I think we just came out expecting to win and it backfired in our face,” senior Carnae Dillard said. “We need to come out stronger and not take anyone lightly.”
The Mean Green struggled to get anything going offensively against Charlotte, as Dillard finished with her lowest kill total of the season, 11, while finishing with a .152 hitting percentage.
Sophomore Holly Milam had nine kills while hitting .500, sophomore Amanda Chamberlain finished with eight kills, and freshman Alex Janak had 20 assists for the Mean Green offense.
On the other side of the net, North Texas struggled to slow down the 49ers’ top offensive threat in redshirt sophomore Abreia Epps. Finishing with 15 kills, Epps led all scorers in the match and caused problems for the Mean Green throughout the afternoon.
“We just started to become predictable,” Milam said. “Our serve receive was kind of off the net, and they just kind of knew where we were going from there.”
As the Mean Green move forward and look to bounce back in the final stretch of C-USA action, Dillard continues to close in on the all-time school record for kills in a career. The senior captain is currently 53 kills away from breaking the all time record of 2,211 held by Corina Marginas. Entering Sunday’s match, Dillard was leading the NCAA in kills (508) and kills per set (5.40).
Additionally, Chamberlain is currently sitting in first place in team history for an individual season attack percentage of .338.
North Texas will continue the chase for a conference championship and the record books back in Denton this weekend, when the Mean Green hosts the University of Texas at El Paso and Southern Mississippi University on Oct. 29-30.
“We just need to go back and refocus when we get back home,” Dillard said. “We need to continue to work hard and just go at it.”
Featured Image: Middle blocker Amanda Chamberlain blocks a set by Boise State. Ryan Vance | Senior Staff Photographer
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