DENTON – Four players registered double-digit kills for North Texas Volleyball to propel the Mean Green to a five-set (20-25, 25-21, 19-25, 25-16, 15-10) win over Charlotte Sunday afternoon inside North Texas Volleyball Center led by 18 kills apiece from Barbara Teakell and Valerie Valerian.
 
Teakell continued to be dominate in her return to the court by registering another season-high in kills. Another 18 from Valerian, 11 by Jordyn Williams, and 10 via Rhett Robinson allowed UNT (7-14, 3-2 C-USA) to tally 68 kills compared to 57 from the 49ers (11-10, 1-4 C-USA). Karley York dished out a match-high 55 assists, one short of her season-high.
 
"We battled back for an important to win on our home court," Head Coach Andrew Palileo said. "We showed some guts, and our kids fought through things."
 
The Mean Green claimed their first lead in set one at 6-5 on a dump by York and held a 14-13 edge after a Teakell point. The 49ers pieced together an 8-3 run to pull ahead 21-16 and eventually claimed the set one victory. UNT opened with a 14-10 advantage in the second set following two errors by the 49ers and a block by Sarah Haeussler and Robinson. Tied 21-all, Robinson, Valerian, and Haussler each delivered kills to tie the match, 1-1.
 
Charlotte took a 10-4 lead in set three as North Texas fell behind by as much as 18-10. UNT closed the margin to 19-17 following a service ace from Kaleigh Skopal and a Valerian kill, but the 49ers were able to hold on for a 2-1 match advantage. 
 
A pair of kills from Williams in set four put the Mean Green up 10-6, and a Haussler shot from the outside increased the lead to 19-11. Williams contributed to the final three UNT points of the set with a pair of kills and a block alongside Haussler to force a fifth set.  
 
Williams and Valerian put the Mean Green up 2-0 in the final stanza before Charlotte came to knot the set at 6-6. A block by Williams alongside Valerian gave UNT the lead back at 10-9, and kills from Haussler and Robinson upped it to 12-9. A 49er attack into the net provided match point, and a solo block in the middle by Haussler delivered the Mean Green win.
 
"Staying focused was important for us," said Teakell. "We defended home court, settled down, and came in with energy." 
 
"We knew we needed this one today," said York. 
 
UP NEXT
North Texas hosts Louisiana Tech Friday at 7 p.m.
 
QUICK HITTERS
- Valerian recorded her seventh straight match with a double-double kill performance and her 15^thon the season.
- York is now four digs away from moving into 10^thall-time in the UNT record books.
- The Mean Green are now 2-1 in five-set matches this season.