DENTON - North Texas volleyball swept Southern Miss at home 3-0, defeating the Golden Eagles (1-18, 0-5) for the second time in as many weeks. The Mean Green (10-7, 4-1) were led by a strong defensive performance and Barbara Teakell's best attacking game of the season.

Teakell led all attackers, hitting .526 and picking up 11 kills. It was Teakell's highest hitting percentage this season. Rhett Robinson led the way in kills for the third game in a row with 14. North Texas had 46 kills compared to Southern Miss' 29. 
 
The Mean Green have now won five of their last six games. 
 
"Barb had a great game," head coach Andrew Palileo said. "Southern Miss always brings their stuff and is a tough team for us. As a group we talked about how we have to get through this stretch one match at a time and take care of business."
 
Teakell found her swing early as she led the team in set one with five kills. She added three in set two while Robinson added six in the second set. Teakell closed out the game with three kills in the winning set. 
 
She also picked up 9 digs. 
 
"It was nice to help take the pressure off other people and enjoy the game," Teakell said. "I was more focused on staying relaxed and being in the moment. I was very focused on using the shots I have and executing."
 
Freshman Jordan Burks led the way with 17 digs fresh off her Conference USA Defensive Player of the Week award. She led in digs against Louisiana Tech with 31. Valerie Valerian had 16 digs. Southern Miss out dug North Texas 63 to 46. The Mean Green committed eight service errors, but had three aces compared to the Golden Eagles zero. 
 
The Mean Green were trying to serve Southern Miss deep, and it worked. Burks, Teakell and Aleeyah Galderia had the aces.
 
"We wanted to not make our mistakes into the net," Palileo said. "I thought our defense was a key part in the win. We were just making some technical things after that first set. I wanted to see if they could adjust on their own, but they were having a hard time figuring it out. We talked about it, and I thought it got better."
 
Next up North Texas hits the road for a Friday match against Charlotte at 5 p.m. before travelling to Marshall for an 11 a.m. match Sunday, Oct. 20.