North Texas Daily

Brady Keane | Staff Writer

@BradyKeane3

The Mean Green women’s volleyball team got off to a hot start in its 2015 Conference USA and home opener on their way to a straight set victory (25-21, 25-20, 25-18) over the University of Alabama Birmingham Blazers.

“The energy today from the fans was just great and we are so grateful for that,” sophomore middle blocker Amanda Chamberlain said. “Coming out 1-0 in conference is just awesome.”

The new triple blocking technique utilized by North Texas (4-4) this season was on display early, as the Mean Green picked up their first point on a block from Chamberlain.

The Mean Green have steadily improved blocking as a team after struggling early in the season, and led the Blazers in blocks (10 to 3.5).

“That first weekend we were so unorganized even though we worked on blocking a lot,” head coach Andrew Palileo said. “These last two weeks at practice I felt like we’ve done a better job of understanding what our responsibilities are, and it’s been much improved.”

Chamberlain and senior Carnae Dillard led the Mean Green offensive attack in the first set, while sophomore outside hitter Chelsea Abii added three digs.

The Mean Green went on to win the next two sets without ever trailing the Blazers (4-4) by more than one point.

Dillard’s dominance continued into throughout the match, as the 2015 preseason C-USA Player of the Year finished with 19 kills.

Junior Amy Henard also had another strong offensive performance, racking up 37 assists to finish with her sixth game with 30 or more assists this season.

“We had less errors today and weren’t just hitting the ball out of bounds,” Dillard said. “We managed our shots well, and even if the ball wasn’t there we rolled it in and let our defense pick it up.”

North Texas will be off until Sept. 11-12 when the team hosts the North Texas Invitational. The Mean Green will face off against Boise State on Sept. 11 at 7:00 p.m. before taking on Abilene Christian University at 11:00 a.m. and the University of Houston at 7:00 p.m. on Sept. 12.

Featured Image: Carnae Dillard swings back to hit the ball during a match against UAB. Stevie Lesko | Intern Photographer