Volleyball hosts Oklahoma on Thursday at 5:00

ADLER · March 4, 2021

UNT vs. UAB 2020-21

Volleyball hosts Oklahoma on Thursday

DENTON – The North Texas Mean Green volleyball team will play its second Big 12 opponent of the season when they host Oklahoma at the North Texas Volleyball Center on Thursday at 5 p.m. Below are several notes that you need to know for the match.

About the Mean Green: North Texas is coming off a weekend series against UTEP that saw both matches go to five sets. The Mean Green won the Sunday match in a five-set thriller before dropping a heartbreaker to the Miners on Monday.

UNT volleyball will continue its schedule format in 2020-21 with a mid-week nonconference match against the Sooners. North Texas, who will play three different Big 12 schools this season, already played No. 6 Baylor on Feb. 26 and lost in three sets. In addition to this week's game against Oklahoma, the Mean Green will host No. 6 Baylor on March 12 and Texas Tech on March 17.

North Texas' defense has continued to step up to the occasion, especially on the front row. The Mean Green have outblocked their opponents in seven consecutive matches and UNT's 103 team blocks is second in Conference USA behind Rice (103.5).

Kenzie Smith had a career day on Monday against the Miners, posting career-highs in kills (eight), blocks (five) and attack percentage (.316).

Mean Green leaders: Junior outside hitter Rhett Robinson had a fantastic weekend in the split against UTEP. Robinson recorded back-to-back matches of 20-plus kills for the first time in her career. Robinson now leads C-USA with 194 kills this season, and her 4.04 kills-per-set ranks fifth. In addition to serving as a threat offensively, Robinson tied a team-high 14 total blocks and 1.08 blocks-per-set in the three matches for the Mean Green last week.

Miranda Youmans has also stepped up recently for the Mean Green, as the senior middle blocker notched 17 kills, .351 attack percentage and a team-high 14 total blocks in last week's three matches.

Aleeyah Galdeira leads the Mean Green with 195 digs, and her 4.24 digs-per-set ranks fifth in Conference USA.

Scouting the Sooners: Oklahoma (3-11, 3-9 Big 12) played most of conference slate in fall 2020. The Sooners' three wins this season have come against West Virginia and Kansas twice.

The Sooners will enter Thursday's match on a three-match losing streak and 0-8 on the road during the 2020-21 season. Most recently, Oklahoma was swept at No. 1 Texas on Feb. 26 and Feb. 27. Guewe Diouf leads the Sooners' offensive attack with 228 kills, while Grace Talpash is first on the team with 263 assists.

Series history: Oklahoma leads the all-time series 17-11 dating back to the Mean Green's inaugural varsity season in 1976. North Texas is 5-7 against the Sooners in Denton, 2-7 in Norman and 4-3 at neutral sites. North Texas has won its last two meetings against the Sooners, which came in 2015 and 2017.

In the last matchup between the two squads, UNT dominated Oklahoma and swept the Sooners 3-0 (25-22, 25-18, 25-16) in front of 719 fans at the North Texas Volleyball Center.

Where to Watch: The match can be streamed on Facebook Live on the Mean Green Volleyball Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/MeanGreenVB/).