Volleyball wins third straight, defeats Marshall
Courtesy | Mean Green Maps
Brady Keane | Staff Writer
The North Texas volleyball team continued their quest for a Conference USA Championship on Sunday afternoon, knocking off the Marshall Thundering Herd in fours sets, (25-19, 17-25, 25-23, 25-19).
The win extends the Mean Green (13-8, 5-1) win streak to three games, and the team maintains their position in a tie for second place on the C-USA leaderboard. Western Kentucky is in first place, and the Hilltoppers are undefeated thus far in conference play.
“I think defensively we can definitely get better,” head coach Andrew Palileo said. “Sometimes we look really good, but we need to continue to improve our passing and defense and become more consistent.”
The Mean Green got off to a hot start against Marshall, jumping out to a 4-0 lead in the first set. Despite coasting to a win, the Mean Green struggled in the second set with untimely errors.
However, it didn’t take long for North Texas to jump back into rhythm, as the team was able to build off of the success of senior captain and outside hitter Carnae Dillard.
Dillard finished with a game high 19 kills and added 16 digs to grab her 14th double-double of the season. Sophomore Holly Milam added 10 kills and five digs for the Mean Green, while sophomore Alexis Wright had seven kills, and freshman Karley York had 23 assists.
“We were really balanced offensively today,” Dillard said. “All the hitters executed when they got the opportunity.”
The Mean Green have also benefited offensively in the last two matchups from the return of sophomore outside hitter Amanda Chamberlain. Chamberlain missed three games, including the team’s only conference loss to UTSA, due to an injury.
Chamberlain finished the match against Marshall with nine kills and a .429 hitting percentage.
“It feels good to be back on the court,” Chamberlain said. “Sitting there and watching was hard.”
North Texas returns home this weekend for a matchup against Lousiana Tech Friday Oct. 16, and a much anticipated battle against Western Kentucky Sunday Oct. 18.
“It’s motivating to be back at home,” Dillard said. “We like the feeling of winning so we don’t want to give [the winning streak] up.”
Featured Image: Courtesy | Mean Green Athletics
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