DENTON (11/2/03) -- Corina Marginas and Brittney Gregory each smashed a match-high 18 kills to lead the North Texas volleyball team (19-11, 9-2) to a 3-1 (30-19, 18-30, 30-17, 30-28) victory over New Orleans (9-18, 3-8) on Sunday at the Snake Pit.
North Texas has now won eight of its last nine matches and with its win over New Orleans, has secured a spot in the 2003 Hardee’s Sun Belt Conference Tournament, set for Nov. 20-22. The Mean Green needs only one more victory to reach 20 wins for just third time in school history and the first time since 1995.
Brittney Gregory recorded seven of her 18 kills in the first game to pace the Mean Green in an 11-point victory. North Texas hit just .059 in a second-game loss, but responded by hitting a match-high .419 in its third-game 30-17 win. NT led the final game 22-11 and had the game under control, but UNO went on an 11-3 run to pull back within 22-25. The Privateers closed the gap to 27-28, but the Mean Green didn’t give up the lead and won two of the final three points.
NT hit .220 for the match, while UNO managed just a .087 attack percentage. The Privateers had 172 attacks, but North Texas had 10 blocks and 75 digs. Jill Ruskowski finished with a match-high 20 digs, giving her three matches this year with at least 20 digs. Anne Pope recorded six blocks to lead the Mean Green at the net and also finished with 10 kills. Marginas finished the outing with a season-high five blocks. The senior outside hitter also posted a double-double with 14 digs to go along with her 18 kills.
Jennifer Cruz led New Orleans with 16 kills and Christine Zimmer tallied a team-high 15 digs. The Privateers had 11 aces, but was hurt by six service errors.
North Texas completed a two-match sweep of New Orleans, the second Sun Belt West Division opponent the Mean Green has taken both matches from this year.
North Texas now begins a tough road stretch, facing Denver, New Mexico State and Western Kentucky all on the road. The Mean Green will then wrap up its regular season against Louisiana-Lafayette on Nov. 16 at home. North Texas will next face Denver on Nov. 7 at 8 p.m. (CST).
