WICHITA FALLS — TWU hit .300 as a team Saturday to capture its third straight road sweep with a 25-19, 25-19, 25-11 decision at Midwestern State.
The Pioneers (13-3, 7-1 Lone Star) matched their win total from last season, when they posted a 13-17 overall record.
TWU’s Josie Santos recorded her second consecutive double-double with a match-high 12 kills to go with 11 digs. Viktorija Jablonska had 11 kills and posted a .364 hitting percentage. Marcela Alves and Courtnee Davis posted nine and eight kills, respectively, and Kayla Rivero had 15 digs and a match-high 23 assists.
TWU led 12-6 in the first set, and the Mustangs closed to within three points on two occasions.
In the second set, TWU trailed 11-8 when head coach Shelly Barberee called a timeout. The Pioneers responded with an 8-2 run to take control.
TWU led 11-4 to open the third set and cruised from there.
“We had seven hitting errors in the first [set] but played better in the second and third,” Barberee said. “Viktorija, Courtnee and Marcela played really well with over .350 hitting percentages. We are 7-1 in the conference with six of those wins on the road. I am proud of the girls.”
The Pioneers will return to action Friday when they travel to San Angelo to face Angelo State at 7 p.m.
UALR d. North Texas
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — North Texas had a chance to tie the 2002 squad for the longest win streak in school history, but that bid was cut short by Arkansas Little-Rock in a 25-17, 26-24, 22-25, 24-26, 15-11 marathon match.
North Texas (17-6, 3-1 Sun Belt West) had won seven straight matches. The Mean Green overcame a two-set UALR advantage, but the Trojans’ .249 attack percentage and late 5-0 fifth-set run sealed their victory.
In a matchup that pitted two of the nation’s top young attackers, it was UALR’s Edina Begic who got the upper hand. The sophomore entered the match with an NCAA-high 5.35 kills per set, and landed 33 kills on UNT. UNT’s Carnae Dillard countered with a career-high 26 kills.
Dillard landed nine kills in the third set, as UNT hit .325 as a team in holding off UALR (8-8, 4-0).
The Mean Green carried that momentum into the fourth set, using a 5-0 run to snag a 19-18 lead. UNT faced set point at 25-24, but consecutive blocks from Courtney Windham, Dillard and Windham stole the set for North Texas.
A blocking error gave the Mean Green its first lead in the fifth set at 6-5. After a Trojan timeout, the home squad reeled off a 5-0 run that UNT wouldn’t recover from.
With six blocks on the night, Windham moved into the top 10 in school history in single-season blocks. The junior posted 17 blocks in this weekend’s two matches, and is now in eighth place in UNT history.
Shelby Tamura posted a match-high 29 digs for UNT.
Cross country
UNT 10th in Stillwater
STILLWATER, Okla. — North Texas took 10th place in the men’s and women’s races at the Cowboy Jamboree.
Jo Adams led the UNT women with an 11th-place finish and a time of 18:19.20. Kaitlyn Newton (19:53.72) finished 46th.
Mean Green freshman Troy Taylor placed 38th, finishing the 8-kilometer men’s event in 26:11.97. Senior Matt Russ (26:22.69) finished 41st.
UNT next runs Oct. 13 at Arkansas’ Chile Pepper Festival in Fayetteville, Ark.
