Courtesy: North Texas Athletics
DENTON, Texas – North Texas volleyball head coach Andrew Palileo announced the team’s 2018 schedule, which includes seven matches against teams that finished in the top 35 in last season’s final RPI rankings.
“I’m excited about our schedule because it provides us both challenges and opportunities,” Palileo said. “We have the opportunity to host two tournaments that I think will be fun for our fans to watch.”
The Mean Green have a home-and-home scheduled with reigning American Athletic Conference champion Wichita State (final RPI: 19), which will participate in the North Texas Challenge Sept. 13-15. UNT will travel to Wichita, Kan., for a match on Nov. 24.
The Mean Green will also host Cal Poly (final RPI: 22) in the North Texas Challenge and Wisconsin (final RPI: 13) at 1 p.m. on Sun., Sept. 9. The Badgers have advanced to at least the Sweet Sixteen and won at least 20 matches in each of the last five seasons.
The Mean Green open 2018 with the North Texas Invitational against Nicholls State, Northeastern and Kent State Aug. 24-25.
UNT begins a stretch of seven-straight games on the road at Baylor (final RPI: 17) on Aug. 28. The Mean Green will travel to California Sept. 1-3 to face Cal State Northridge, Pepperdine and Idaho, and then head to Manhattan Kan., on Sept. 7-8 for the Kansas State Tournament, which will feature Oregon State (final RPI: 34).
The Mean Green open Conference USA play against Louisiana Tech at 7 p.m. on Fri., Sept. 21, in Ruston, La., and their C-USA home opener falls on Sept. 30 against FIU.
UNT is slated to play four-time defending C-USA tournament champion Western Kentucky on Oct. 19 in Bowling Green, Ky. The conference tournament will begin a month later, Nov. 16-18, in Huntington, W.Va.
North Texas had a season for the record books in 2017 with numerous program milestones including best record (29-4), best conference record (13-1), longest win streak (16), best start to a season (12-1), best home record (15-2) and first appearance in the AVCA Coaches Poll.
“We feel like we have a team that’s motivated to take the next step,” Palileo said.
After claiming the program’s first-ever regular season conference title, the Mean Green advanced to the C-USA championship match, where they fell to WKU. UNT earned an automatic bid into the National Invitational Volleyball Championship and defeated Oral Roberts in the first round before falling to TCU in the second round.
The Mean Green had a program-high four all-region honorees, five all-conference selections, and nine C-USA weekly awards. Palileo earned the program’s first region coach of the year award and was named the C-USA Coach of the Year.
North Texas Invitational (Denton, Texas)
8/24 vs. Nicholls State
8/24 vs. Northeastern
8/25 vs. Kent State
8/28 at Baylor
9/1 at CSUN
9/2 at Pepperdine
9/3 vs. Idaho
Kansas State Tournament
9/7 at Kansas State
9/7 vs. Nebraska-Omaha
9/8 vs. Oregon State
9/9 vs. Wisconsin
North Texas Challenge
9/13 vs. Mississippi State
9/14 vs. Wichita State
9/15 vs. Stephen F. Austin *
9/15 vs. Cal Poly
9/21 at Louisiana Tech *
9/23 at UTSA *
9/26 at Tulsa
9/30 vs. FIU *
10/5 vs. Florida Atlantic *
10/7 vs. Charlotte *
10/12 vs. Louisiana Tech *
10/14 at Rice *
10/19 at Western Kentucky *
10/21 at UAB *
10/28 vs. Marshall *
11/02 at Middle Tennessee State *
11/4 at Southern Miss *
11/8 vs. UTEP *
11/10 vs. Southern Miss *
11/16 – 2018 C-USA Tournament (Huntington, WV)
11/24 at Wichita State
* Conference USA contest
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