DENTON – Winners of 18 of their last 21 matches at home, the Mean Green volleyball team prepares to host the North Texas Challenge from Sept. 13-15. UNT enters the tournament having won eight straight preseason tournament matches at home.

The Mean Green (3-8) open tournament play against Mississippi State (4-6) at 7 p.m. Thursday and face Wichita State (4-4) at 6 p.m. Friday. On Saturday, North Texas squares off against Stephen F. Austin (10-2) and No. 14 Cal Poly (7-1) at 11 a.m. and 7 p.m., respectively.

UNT is 24-40 all-time against the field, including a 20-24 mark against former Southland Conference foe SFA. The Lady Jacks won the last meeting in 2016 at the SFA Volleyball Invitational. The Mean Green swept Mississippi State in 2017 to bring their all-time record against the Bulldogs to .500 (3-3).

North Texas is coming off a loss to No. 2 Wisconsin Sunday afternoon, just the third loss for the Mean Green at home since 2016. For the second-straight match, freshman Rhett Robinson led the team in kills with 14 against the Badgers.

In the team's final two matches of the weekend against Oregon State and Wisconsin, Robinson averaged a team-high 5.17 kills per set, along with three aces and 12 digs. She currently leads the team with 11 aces and ranks second in kills (102) and blocks (24).

Despite the Mean Green's losing streak reaching eight matches, the longest since the 2009 squad started 0-8, Palileo and the team believes the team's performances are trending upward. Against the nationally-ranked Beavers and Badgers, UNT competed late into sets one and three of both matches.

The North Texas Challenge provides a last set of challenging matches on the Mean Green's slate before Conference USA play begins next Friday.

For the first time, single-game tickets are available for home matches at the North Texas Volleyball Center. Visit the Mean Green Ticket Office page to purchase tickets. Single-game tickets are $8.