Volleyball prepares for home showdown with #12 Baylor

DENTON — The Mean Green volleyball team will open a three game homestand on Wednesday when they host #12 Baylor at the North Texas Volleyball Center.

About the Mean Green: North Texas (9-7, 2-2) head into Wednesday night looking to build on back to back wins over Louisiana Tech this past weekend.

So far this season, senior outside hitter Rhett Robinson has been the primary source of offense for the Mean Green. She leads the team with 262 kills and 692 attacks, and holds a .256 attack percentage. Her kills per set average of 5.24 also leads Conference USA, and is good for third best in the nation. He 262 total kills ranks 10th nationally.

While graduate setter Kaliegh Skopal still maintains the team assists lead with 359, the rise of freshman setter Katie Butler has been noticeable, especially during last weekend's wins over the Lady Techsters. Butler posted a career high 54 assists in Friday's four set win, and followed that performance up with 42 more in Saturday's sweep. She has 258 total assists on the season, trailing only Skopal on the Mean Green leaderboard.

Other Mean Green leaders: Sarah Haeussler has been one of North Texas' more efficient players, posting a team leading .370 attack percentage. She also leads the team in total blocks by a wide margin, with 74.

Henrianna Ibarra has anchored the Mean Green defensive effort for most of the year. She currently holds a team high 246 digs.

Scouting the Bears: Baylor is one of the top teams in the nation, coming in at #12 in the latest AVCA Top 25 poll for Division I volleyball programs. The Bears are 8-4 on the year with impressive wins over #7 Minnesota, two wins over #7 Florida, and a sweep of Rice, who landed in the "others receiving votes" category.

However, the Bears had a disappointing 1-1 outing last weekend in Big 12 play, falling in the first of two matches to unranked Texas Tech at home in five sets.

Series history: North Texas and Baylor have met on the court 36 times in program history, the most recent matchup being a 3-0 sweep for the Bears last season in Waco. Baylor leads the all time series 24-12.

Where to watch: The match at 6 p.m. on Wednesday will be streamed both on the Mean Green Sports YouTube channel, as well as CUSA.tv.