DENTON – The North Texas volleyball team wraps up a three-game stretch away from home against Tulsa at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Reynolds Center.

The Mean Green are 7-14 all-time against the Golden Hurricane, defeating Tulsa in four sets at the North Texas Volleyball Center to begin their record-setting 2017 season.

UNT (5-12, 1-1 C-USA) opened Conference USA play with a five-set win at Louisiana Tech, in which Mean Green student-athletes set 13 single-match career highs.  

Sophomore Valerie Valerian headlined the milestone-filled night with career highs in kills (29) and blocks (five), along with a season-high 18 digs. She is the first student-athlete in program history to have at least 25 kills, 15 digs and five blocks in a match.

The team-leader in kills (205) and digs (145), Valerian has shown no signs of a sophomore slump with four-consecutive double-doubles, averaging a team-best 4.31 kills per set and 3.5 digs per set in that span.

"It's a lot of work being able to contribute on both sides," Valerian said. "I've just got to do my job on defense and put up good balls to help our offense. It keeps the team going."

With fellow sophomore outside hitter Barbara Teakell sidelined for the last three weeks, Valerian has accounted for about 35 percent of the team's attempts on offense, but her rising confidence makes that responsibility no problem.

"My mindset has just been going out there with full confidence and, to be put in that position, it's what you have to do," Valerian said. "I know if I do my job, it'll make everyone else's easier."

Valerian and the rest of the North Texas hitters will be faced with one of the top defenses in the country as the Golden Hurricane rank 21^st in the nation in digs per set (17.40). Tulsa is led by Taylor Horsfall, whose 5.71 digs per set are 10^th in the country.

"I've just got to keep doing what I'm doing," Valerian said. "I've got to find good angles to be able to play against their defense."

Defense is also trending upward for the Mean Green, the C-USA leader in digs per set (18.75) in conference play. It was a long-overdue breakthrough for the team that was averaging just over 12 a set entering the weekend.

"We're finally getting confident on passing and going after every ball," freshman Kasey Bortnem said.

Bortnem, who saw action in just 21 sets before Friday, made her first two appearances at libero against LA Tech and UTSA, recording a career-high 18 digs against the Lady Techsters and following with 14 digs against the Roadrunners.

"I had to stay calm," Bortnem said. "I was really focused on staying confident and knowing I had to get every ball up and lead the team."

UNT fans can watch Wednesday's match on Hurricane Vision and live stats will be available on StatBroadcast.