Ken Murczek and Keith Schunzel used to joke about coaching together, mostly because the idea seemed to far-fetched.

The pair played on the college level and then found their way into the coaching ranks before landing jobs as assistants at power programs — Murczek at Kansas and Schunzel at Indiana.

DRC/Barron Ludlum

North Texas head volleyball coach Ken Murczek is entering his first season atop the Mean Green program. The season kicks off Friday.

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They also both had families to consider, which made the idea of teaming up seem unlikely until a whirlwind series of events landed both at North Texas. The Mean Green will open the first season of the Murczek era in a match against Southeastern Louisiana Friday at the Jackson State (Miss.) Tournament.

Murczek took over as UNT’s head coach in the off-season and convinced Schunzel to come to Denton with to help build what they hope will be a consistent winner in the Sun Belt Conference.

“One of the first calls I made after I got the job was to coach Keith to see if he was interested in making a move,” Murczek said. “I knew he was in a good situation, but it isn’t often that you get to work with people that you respect and can walk away from the office, go to dinner and talk about life with. You need an outlet outside the job. Hopefully, we can create an environment with some balance.”

UNT is hoping the pair will also build a winning program. The Mean Green finished 12-21 last season under former head coach Cassie Headrick and hasn’t posted a winning season since 2006.

Murczek and Schunzel looked beyond those struggles and saw the potential for UNT to develop into a winning program.

“One of the reasons I took the job is you are in a state with maybe the best volleyball in the country,” Murczek said. “From a recruiting standpoint, this can get turned around pretty quickly.”

UNT will look to rebuild around senior outside hitter Amy Huddleston, who led the Mean Green with 414 kills last season. Senior outside hitter Brittani Youman also returns after posting 220 kills last season.

UNT added to that core with a recruiting class that included North Crowley standout Melanie Boykins, who transferred in from Eastern Illinois, and Shelley Morton, who arrived from Palomar (Calif.) Junior College.

While recruiting was important for the future of the team, Murczek named changing the culture of the program as one of his main challenges.

“The talent that returns and the kids we brought in will put us in position to compete,” Murczek said. “What drives the bus is the gym culture, which is headed in a different direction. It has to be competitive. If the girls know their position locked up, they will get lackadaisical.”

UNT’s players can see the impact of that change.

“We are a much better team already,” Huddleston said. “It has shown in practice and our spring tournaments. We have improved so much. I knew we would be better this year at about the middle of last season just based on who we had coming back. The new coaches have just elevated that.”

The rapport between Murczek and Schunzel has helped UNT adjust to a new coaching staff.

“It makes everyone so comfortable because they are friends,” sophomore middle blocker Rachelle Wilson said. “We are not trying to figure them out because they are being exactly who they are. They have known each other for years. However you act with your best friend is how you are going to act when you are together in front of a lot of people. It helped us adjust.”

Murczek played at San Diego State and went on to coach at a number of colleges before his last stop at Kansas, while Schunzel played at Ball State and spent the last two seasons at Indiana.

The two met at Ball State 10 years ago and have kept in touch ever since.

“It’s different to be able to trust someone who you work with and have respect for,” Schunzel said. “We believe in a lot of the same things from a volleyball standpoint from how to run a program to how to play the game the right way. That makes a difference. I will have an ownership and a say. That’s big because not a lot of places are like that.”

There were times over the last few months when Murczek would sit with a recruit on a visit to UNT while Schunzel ran practice.

“What the girls see is there is not a lot of ego going on,” Murczek said. “I trust who I am working with. … Keith knew he would have some ownership in the program. The girls see that we are a team as a staff.”

UNT’s players expect the change in the atmosphere around the program to help change their performance on the court.

“The goal every year is to win conference,” Huddleston said. “You don’t want to set a low goal. It’s a lot more realistic now. I know we could possibly play with those top [Sun Belt] teams — Middle [Tennessee], Western [Kentucky] and maybe Florida International.”

BRETT VITO can be reached at 940-566-6870. His e-mail address is bvito@dentonrc.com

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Notes

+ Jackson State Tournament, Jackson, Miss.

^Samford Tournament, Birmingham, Ala.

% Texas State Tournament, San Marcos

$ UT Arlington Invitational

* Sun Belt Conference game