DENTON – In-front of a packed house for senior night, the Mean Green continued its hot-streak to defeat UTEP 3-1 (25-16, 20-25, 25-9, 25-17) to win its sixth-straight match.
 
Sophomore Barbara Teakell led the team with a season high 18 kills, while senior Jordyn Williams followed up with 14 kills. Williams' mark was matched by sophomore Valerie Valerian.
 
North Texas (14-15, 10-3) rolled in set one to win 25-16, but the Miners (5-20, 2-11) responded valiantly to take set two 25-20. North Texas reacted.
 
Teakell got rolling, so did Valerian and Williams. Williams, the team's most effective attacker entering the match, was also the most effective attacker on Thursday night. She finished with a hitting percentage of .478 to lead the team.
 
The Mean Green won set three convincingly 25-9 to springboard into set four.
 
"I thought we played well in that first set but UTEP did a good job making a couple adjustments," head coach Andrew Palileo said. "We spotted our serves a little bit better and put us in a good position for the rest of that rally [in set three]."
 
Senior Karley York completed her team-leading 14th double-double with 42 assists and 13 digs. She now has 3,527 career assists.  Teakell's 18 kills led all attackers, and her combo with Valerian will be key for the Mean Green moving towards the Conference USA tournament which gets started next weekend.
 
Williams knows what the combo can do for the North Texas attack.
 
"It's almost unstoppable when they get going," Williams said. "They open it up for everybody."
 
The Mean Green won set four 25-17, but recorded its second lowest attacking percentage as a team on the night at .216. Set three was the most effective with a .571 hitting percentage.
 
It was a special night for the seniors honored before the game. With framed jerseys and a bouquet of flowers in tow, York and Williams can look forward to the final match of the season with great positivity.
 
"It was so special," Williams said. "It's almost like everything came full circle - our full four years of being here."
 
With a laugh, York echoed her teammates' thoughts before delving into the game she loves.
 
"We've been working on some new things for the conference tournament," York said. "We can focus in on keeping the momentum for conference tournament."