North Texas Daily (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 98, No. 21, Ed. 1 Thursday, September 29, 2011 Page: 6 of 8
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Page 6
Sports
Thursday, September 29,2011
Sean Gorman, Sports Editor
seangorman@my.unt.edu
Mean Green faces Sun Belt foes in the Bayou
Alex Young
Staff Writer
A week after splitting its first
two conference games, the UNT
volleyball team will travel to
Louisiana to face Sun Belt oppo-
nents Louisiana Monroe (7-6,1-2)
and Louisiana-Lafayette (8-11,
0-3).
The Mean Green (10-7, 1-1)
enters the game in second place
in the Sun Belt West Division,
but errors have plagued UNT
all season.
Head coach Ken Murczek said
he has not been pleased by UNT's
63 attack errors in its last two
matches.
"Every day in practice we are
trying to make a premium on
not making as many errors," he
said. "There is a fine line between
scoring a point and missing by
a foot."
The Mean Green is hitting .184
in its last five matches and is 3-2
in those games.
However, UNT's .178 hitting
percentage for the season is ninth
highest in the Sun Belt, ranking
above only Denver and FIU.
Those teams have a combined
7-21 record so far this season.
On Sunday, senior libera Sarah
Willey became the second player
in school history to reach the
1,500-digplateau andnowranks
secondinUNT history with 1,512
for her career.
"It's only an important acco-
lade if it helps the team win,"
Willey said. "I am proud of the
i
WHftXAS
State of
the Team
-Freshman outside hitter
Eboni Godfrey anchored
the Mean Green attack all
season, leading the team
with 3.17 kills per set.
The last time a freshman
led the team in kills was
in 2000, when the Mean
Green's all-time kills leader
Corina Marginas led UNT
with 4.41 kills per set.
-The Mean Green's win
over Florida Atlantic on
Saturday was head coach
Ken Murczek's 30th win
in his 50th match at UNT.
Murczek has the second-
highest win percentage
through 50 games in
school history.
Photo by Amber Plumley/ Staff Photographer
Senior middle blocker Melanie Boykins makes a hard hit against Florida International on Friday night. UNT was defeated by FIU but won its match Sunday
against Florida Atlantic. UNT is now 10-7 and will go on the road this weekend for matches against Sun Belt Conference teams Louisiana-Monroe and Louisiana-
Lafayette.
accomplishment and do what
I can."
Willey needs 359 more to crack
the Sun Belt Top-5.
UNT at ULM, 6 p.m. Friday
The Warhawks will be riding
high after breaking an 83-match
Sun Belt losing streak Sunday by
defeating in-state rival Louisiana-
Lafayette.
Sophomore outside hitter
Blanca Ocana led the team with
14 kills in the match. ULM ranks
fourth in the SBC in opponent
hitting percentage, right above
UNT with .167. UNT ranks first
in the Sun Belt with 388 attack
errors on the season. Both teams
have struggled on the block, so
the front row will be a battle all
match long.
UNT at Louisiana-Lafayette,
12 p.m. Sunday
UNT will end its weekend
in Louisiana against the Ragin
Cajuns. The Cajuns pose a serve-
receive challenge for the Mean
Green, ranking second in the
Sun Belt with 1.59 service aces
per set.
Sophomore libero Taylor
Meade has led the way, ranking
first in the SBC with 31 aces.
However, Louisiana-Lafayette
ranks near the bottom of the SBC
in almost every other major cate-
gory. UNT should have the edge
here if it can hold the Cajuns
under .200 percent hitting for the
match and maintains an aggres-
sive attack with its hitters.
Prediction: UNT shakes the
error bug and leaves Louisiana
with a 3-1 confernece record.
Looking ahead: Three Mean Green games to watch
Sean Gorman
Sports Editor
Now in the sixth week of
the semester, the games are
gaining importance and the
intensity level is growing for
Mean Green athletics.
With Sun Belt play now
under way, the teams' jour-
neys to capturing a conference
title have begun and every
game on the schedule could
determine their fate in 2011.
As the Mean Green teams
try to work their way up the
Sun Belt standings, here are
three games UNT fans can't
afford to miss this fall.
Football at Louisiana-
Lafayette, Oct. 15
Yes, it's a road game, but
that doesn't mean UNT fans
can't find the nearest bar or
restaurant or fire up the live
feed on ESPN.com to stay
updated on this game. After
recent events, it will be worth
it. Following a victory over
Indiana this past weekend,
the Mean Green was predicted
to make a bowl game by CBS
Sports' Jerry Palm. Hopes for
UNT to play in its first post-
season game since 2004 are
alive, but the ULL has proven
itself as a team that could
squash those aspirations.
The Cajuns (3-1) shocked the
world with a road win over
conference favorite Florida
International and the team is
now in a position to contend
for a Sun Belt title. Based on
the season's first four games,
this will be UNT's toughest
test and will be a must win
if UNT is in the hunt to win
its 25th conference champi-
onship.
Volleyball against Arkansas
State, Nov. 4
Although the Sun Belt's
best teams reside in the East
Division, priority number one
for the Mean Green volleyball
team is winning the West. In
the Sun Belt's weaker confer-
ence, UNT and Arkansas
State are the only teams with
winning records. UNT will
face the Red Wolves on the
road earlier in the season,
I
.
Photo by James Coreas/Staff Photographer
Sophomore running back Brandin Byrd tries to avoid a tackle in UNT's win against Indiana Saturday. The Mean Green will
play a pivotal game when it faces Louisiana-Lafayette Oct. 15.
but this game will happen
one week before the start
of the conference tourna-
ment. Keep in mind that the
Mean Green will face the
teams responsible for the
last six Sun Belt Conference
titles, Middle Tennessee and
Western Kentucky, on the
road before facing the Red
Wolves. If the Mean Green
struggles in those contests, it
could gain important ground
in the West Division stand-
ings with a home victory over
ASU. Don't be surprised if the
teams' tournament seedings
are decided when they face off
in Denton three weeks before
Thanksgiving.
Soccer against Denver,
Oct. 28
For the last five years, it's
been the same story for UNT.
The team plays Denver in a
game with tournament impli-
cations and falls short for a
handful of reasons. Head
coach John Hedlund has never
had a losing season, but if the
Mean Green wants to take
the next step and become a
conference powerhouse, the
first step is the beat the Lady
Pioneers. For the first time
in three years UNT will play
host to Denver, but the chal-
lenge will still exist. After all,
when the team visited the
Lady Pioneers in last season's
capper, Denver was ranked
No. 22. Mean Green fans
can help UNT soccer claim
a higher seed in the Sun Belt
Tournament by creating a
hostile environment for the
Lady Pioneers. Given recent
history, UNT will need all the
help it can get.
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UNT senior libero Sarah Willey ranks second in Mean Green
volleyball history with 1,512 career digs. Who ranks first?
Answer: UNT's all-time leader in digs is former Mean Green player Jessica
Hulsebosch. Hulsebosch played from 2004-2007 before serving as a UNT assistant
coach for two years.
It seems appropriate that the only person who answered the question correctly on
the NTDaily Sports Twitter, @NTDailySports, was the player our question was based
on! Congratulations Sarah Willey!
North Texas Daily
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Pherigo, Josh. North Texas Daily (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 98, No. 21, Ed. 1 Thursday, September 29, 2011, newspaper, September 29, 2011; Denton, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth209175/m1/6/: accessed May 7, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.