Sept. 12, 2014
Mean Green Classic Central
North Texas vs. Abilene Christian Box Score
North Texas recovered from a slow start Friday night to defeat Abilene Christian 3-1 in the first match of the Mean Green Classic, a rematch of last weekend's 3-0 sweep over the Wildcats.
The Mean Green found themself down 1-0 after dropping set one, 25-23, for just the second time in all eight matches this season. Abilene Christian (0-7), who started the match hot with a .438 team attacking percentage in set one, had been looking to take their first set of the season.
After spotting ACU early momentum, North Texas would respond in set two to change the tide. The Mean Green rushed out to a 20-13 lead thanks to five kills by Junior Carnae Dillard. The Wildcats attempted to make a run to make things interesting late in the set avoiding match point three straight times, before finally conceding set two 25-18.
Coming out of intermission at one a piece, North Texas fed off the energy of the loud crowd on hand in the stands tonight to seize all momentum in a pivotal set three. All the energy was needed to overcome a 5-1 early deficit to the Wildcats. However, ACU seemed phased by the North Texas Volleyball Center atmosphere late in the set, as three straight errors allowed North Texas to finish off set three once again at 25-18.
North Texas showed its teeth in set four and surged past the outmatched Southland Conference opponent. Thanks to a .583 set attacking percentage, the Mean Green roared out to a 20-7 lead. The Wildcats would add four more points to the stat sheet but North Texas proved to be too much to handle as they closed out the dominant set four 25-11, wrapping up the victory.
Dillard, the Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week in both week one and two, kept rolling tonight with a 25 kill performance on a .447 attack percentage. After adding 13 digs tonight, she now has recorded a double-double in all but two matches this season.
Freshmen Holly Milam and Amanda Chamberlain both made their prescence known tonight with three blocks apiece. Milam also had the second most kills for North Texas in the match at eight.
Senior Cami Cherry and Sophomore Amy Henard split the setting duties tonight as both recorded similar numbers. Cherry picked up 24 assists, while Henard inched closer to the next spot on the all-time career assists list with 28 assists tonight.
North Texas (7-1) returns to action tomorrow at 11 a.m. against Jackson State (0-9) on day two of the Mean Green Classic inside the North Texas Volleyball Center, before finishing up in the tournament finale against Utah Valley at 7 p.m. Tomorrow morning’s match will be streamed live through All-Access video. Free live stats will be provided for all Mean Green Classic matches at MeanGreenStats.com.
Follow along with all the #MeanGreenClassic action on Twitter with #NTvsJSU!
| Around The Mean Green Classic |
- Utah Valley dropped Jackson State in the first match of Friday night, 3-0 (25-8, 25-16, 25-18), for their second win of the season (2-7). JSU fell to 0-9.
- The Mean Green's Carnae Dillard leads the tournament field with 25 kills. Abilene Christian's Jennifer Loerch follows close behind with 18 kills, and Utah Valley's Nakisha Willden with 10.
- ACU's Sarah Siemens leads all setters with 37 assists. Both Amy Henard and Cami Cherry, of North Texas, have 28 and 24 assists respectively.
- Madison Hoover, of ACU, currently has a tournament high of 14 digs through one match played for each team. Dillard (NT) has 13 digs, and McKenna Tait (UVU) has 12.
- Lauren Bakker (UVU) leads the field with three block solos and two blocks assisted for five total.
- North Texas takes on Jackson State in the first Saturday match at 11 a.m.
- Utah Valley takes on Abilene Christian in the second Saturday match right after, at 1 p.m.
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