Volleyball Picked To Finish 3rd in SBC West

UNTLifer · August 23, 2005

Volleyball: UNT picked to finish third in SBC West

Marginas lands on All-Time SBC team, Gregory out for year

08:25 AM CDT on Tuesday, August 23, 2005

By Brett Vito / Staff Writer

The Sun Belt Conference honored former North Texas volleyball standout Corina Marginas on Monday, when the league’s coaches labeled the Mean Green a dark horse in the race for the 2005 conference title.

DRC file photo

North Texas' Corina Marginas (3) makes a spike against Tulsa's Gabrielle Penaluna (28) during the Lady Eagles' win at the Snake Pit on Sept. 10, 2003.

UNT was picked to finish third in the Sun Belt’s West Division in the league’s preseason coaches poll. The Mean Green finished fourth in the division last season with a 6-9 record and lost several of their top players, including Brittney Gregory.

Gregory tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her knee during the offseason and will take a medical redshirt this year.

“We ended the season on a good note last year, but with the loss of Gregory there are a lot of unknowns on our team,” UNT coach Cassie Headrick said. “I thought the poll was a fare assessment of where we are at.”

Exceeding expectations will be a challenge without Gregory, who was named to the All-Sun Belt second team in each of the last two seasons. The middle blocker ranks second in UNT history with 1,110 kills and is one of just two players in Mean Green history to record more than 1,000 kills.

“It’s a huge loss,” Headrick said. “It changes the complexion of our team, but it will allow other kids to learn to lead and be the go-to player on the court.”

Marginas established herself in that role during a standout career with the Mean Green and earned a spot on the Sun Belt’s All-Time Volleyball Team that included 30 players. The team was released in conjunction with the preseason poll.

Marginas played for UNT from 2000-04 and was named the Sun Belt’s Player of the Year in 2003. She also earned Freshman of the Year honors in 2000. The four-time first-team All-SBC selection ranks first in UNT history and third in SBC history with 2,211 kills.

“We have only been in the Sun Belt for six years, so for Corina to be named to the team speaks to what she did,” Headrick said. “She was huge in the turnaround of this program. It was nice to see her receive that recognition.”