Monday, November 5, 2007
UNT volleyball goes 2-1 in final home matches
Mean Green earns trip to conference tournament with wins over Louisiana-Lafayette and Louisiana-Monroe before falling to New Orleans on Sunday.
UNT 3, Louisiana-Lafayette 2
It took the North Texas volleyball team five games to put away a pesky Louisiana-Lafayette squad – again (28-30, 30-21, 32-34, 30-23, 15-11).
It took four players in double-figure kills for North Texas (11-18, 7-8) to win the slugfest over Louisiana-Lafayette (4-26, 3-12), and can clinch a spot in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament with a win tomorrow over Louisiana at Monroe.
Tonight marks the third time in the last three seasons, and the second time this year, that the Mean Green and ULL have gone to a fifth and deciding game, with North Texas winning all three.
Brooke Engel set a new career high in kills for the second time in the last three matches. The senior racked up a match high 16 kills with a .294 attack percentage.
A battle of service aces and service errors, the Mean Green topped the Ragin’ Cajuns 15-12 in aces and had 14 errors to ULL’s 20. Rachel Raley and Heather Maddox each notched a team-high four aces for NT, but ULL’s Monica DeSchaine led the match with five.
Jessica Hulsebosch and Kelsey Robins led the Mean Green defensive effort with 27 and 11 digs respectively. Heather Maddox posted 51 assists on the night, her eighth 50-assist match of the season.
UNT 3, Louisiana-Monroe 2
The Mean Green volleyball team punched its ticket to the Sun Belt Conference Tournament with a sweep of Louisiana at Monroe, 30-20, 30-24, 30-21.
North Texas (12-18, 8-8) used a .353 attack percentage to down the Warhawks (1-27, 0-14), and will be at least the No. 8 seed at the SBC Tourney which begins on Nov. 15.
Katy Prokof was the anchor on the Mean Green offense, notching a game-high 12 kills with a .524 attack percentage.
Heather Maddox started the match with an ace on the first play of the night, which propelled the Mean Green out to a 4-0 lead it would never relinquish. The Warhawks didn’t help their cause with 11 attack errors in the game, and Prokof sealed the deal with a .714 attack percentage.
Once again, the Mean Green dominated on the serve with a 9-3 edge in aces. NT has outserved its opponent in 16 matches this year, and owns a 10-6 record when it does. Brooke Engel ranks second in the nation in service aces, and dropped two on the Warhawks.
By beating ULM on Saturday and Louisiana-Lafayette on Friday, North Texas completed its third season sweep of the year. The Mean Green won both of its season matchups against the Warhawks and Ragin’ Cajuns, as well as Arkansas State.
New Orleans 3, UNT 1
The North Texas volleyball team closed out the 2007 home slate with a disappointing 3-1 loss to New Orleans, 28-30, 30-28, 23-30, 25-30.
The Mean Green (12-19, 8-9) couldn’t contain New Orleans’ (15-13, 9-6) outside hitters, Lindsay Boyd and Dobrilla Kovacevic, who combined for 39 kills on .297 hitting.
The Mean Green attempted to counter with four players in double figures, but fell short. Katy Prokof led the way with 13 kills on senior day. Brooke Engel and Rachel Raley each notched 12 kills apiece, and Amy Huddleston added 11.
North Texas looked crisp in the second game after surging out to a 4-0 lead on Heather Maddox’s serve. On the verge of game point, the Mean Green held off a furious 9-0 Privateer run to close the game 30-28.
Engel’s devastating serves gave UNO trouble all afternoon. The senior had the Privateers off balance with five aces, to bring her season total to 103 on the year and .91 per game. Engel led the nation in 2006 with 123 aces and .98 per game.
Jessica Hulsebosch eclipsed the 25-dig plateau for the fourth time in the last five matches. The senior finished her last match at the Mean Green Volleyball Center with 27 digs.
North Texas will be quite accustomed to the Centennial State by the time the season is over. The Mean Green closes out the regular season at Denver on Nov. 10, and will return to DU for the Sun Belt Conference Tournament on Nov. 15-17.
Source: UNT
