University of North Texas
The Mean Green (10-12, 4-3) won the five-set conference meeting against the Roadrunners (7-12, 2-5), 23-25, 25-17, 25-21, 19-25, 17-15. Sunday was the first win in five sets for the program since Sept. 17, 2021 versus Illinois State.
Johnson recorded a season-best .465 hitting percentage with 25 kills on 43 attacks, adding eight digs, two blocks and an ace.
“Aryn was phenomenal today and it was nice to finally see her realize just how impactful she can be,” head coach Kristee Porter said. “She is still understanding what she is capable of but once she figures it out, she is going to be scary for opposing teams.”
Treyaunna Rush posted 18 kills with four blocks and an assist while Avery McCrillis tallied double-digit kills for the second consecutive match. McCrillis finished with 10 kills, three aces, three digs and a block.
Aleeyah Galderia led the defense with 22 digs and accumulated six assists and an ace. Sh’Diamond Holly was the team leader with five blocks while adding six kills and an assist.
Setter Ceci Harness benefitted from the gaudy offensive numbers, recording 37 assists with six digs and an ace. Alexa Washington registered her first career double-double, matching her career high of 22 assists and tallying 10 digs.
Set 1: The match opened with a quick 9-3 outburst from the Mean Green with Johnson tallying four kills. UTSA rallied back and took the lead by the midway point of the first at 16-15. A timely 5-3 run pushed UNT ahead at 20-19 prompting a timeout from the Roadrunners. The stoppage proved to be fatal as the home team took the first 25-23.
Set 2: Both sides matched one another in the opening moments of the second before a 5-2 North Texas rally boosted the team into an early lead. The run was capped by a kill and block assist from Holly to give her team a 15-12 edge. UNT continued to apply pressure and held UTSA from scoring more than two consecutive points throughout the frame. Though the hosts pulled within one point, the set closed with a 9-2 North Texas surge. McCrills led the charge with five kills to win the second frame 25-17.
Set 3: The Mean Green parlayed its play into a five-point scoring run early in the third set for an 8-5 lead. The Roadrunners would counter and take the lead, but UNT struck for a 9-3 run to open a four-point advantage at 20-16. North Texas finished the set on a 5-2 spell highlighted with a pair of kills by Rush, winning 25-21 with a 2-1 set advantage.
Set 4: A 6-3 deficit put the visitors at a disadvantage, but the team would continue to battle throughout the frame. North Texas had a late 4-2 run which pulled the team within striking distance but could not come back, dropping the set 19-25 and forcing a fifth set.
Set 5: The decisive set began with kills from Rush and Holly, but UTSA found its footing and took a 4-2 lead. The Mean Green then unleashed a seven-point barrage with four kills from Johnson to shift the tone of the match and pull ahead 9-4. The Roadrunners would pull even at 11-11 before a points swap between the two sides concluded with consecutive kills from Holly and Rush. This gave UNT match point and triggered a timeout from the UTSA bench. The hosts would counter with a pair of kills to push the match in its favor. Facing match point, North Texas went on a three-point tear to claim the victory 17-15 with Johnson getting the final kill.
“I don’t think we played the cleanest match but sometimes growth requires a little struggle,” Porter said. “Today’s match gave us the opportunity to play in another five-set match and really battle for the win. I’m hoping this match has shown them the importance of starting off well and maintaining consistent play through an entire match.”
Up Next: North Texas will travel to face LA Tech in the final Conference USA contest between the two programs on Sunday at 1 p.m. The match will be streamed live on CUSA.tv.