DENTON – North Texas volleyball opened Conference USA play with a 3-0 sweep of UAB (25-21, 25-20, 25-23) on Friday. It's the second game in a row the Mean Green (7-6, 1-0) have swept their opponents.
 
Valerie Valerian picked up 20 kills. It's the third time this season she's had 20+ kills. She is the only player on the squad to do so. Rhett Robinson returned for her first action since Sept. 7, picking up eight kills and two digs. Eight kills is a season high for the sophomore.
 
"I didn't realize how much I missed it until I got back out there," Robinson said. "A win like this gives us a lot of confidence especially going into a big game on Sunday against Rice. It feels good to start it off strong."
 
The Mean Green started 2018 conference play with a win as well. Head coach Andrew Palileo was happy to be in front of a home crowd. Friday's announced attendance was 404 – the second-best home attendance of 2019.
 
"Any time you can be at home and win it's always a good thing," Palileo said. "We need to handle the ball on our side of the net a little bit better. We did just enough to win tonight. That's not how we prepare. We could have played a cleaner game."
 
North Texas hit .300+ in two sets, with only set two being the low mark at .154. The Blazers (8-6, 0-1) only hit .238 in set three. In set one and two UAB struggled to hit the ball well with both sets falling under .070.
 
Kaliegh Skopal provided good service for the outsides as she picked up 39 assists. Barbara Teakell got involved on the scoring as well with eight kills of her own.
 
"We're going to have to step up our game," Palileo said. "Rice is a very good team. They do a lot of things well. For me, it's always about how we do things and manage our side of the net."
 
North Texas now faces a stiff challenge with No. 22 Rice coming to Denton on Sunday for a 1 p.m. match. Live stats for Sunday can be found here. The game will be streamed on CUSA.tv.