DENTON, Texas – The Louisiana Tech volleyball team suffered a 3-0 (25-20, 25-21, 25-18) road defeat to the North Texas Mean Green on Friday evening from the North Texas Volleyball Center.
 
With the loss, LA Tech fell to 6-15 overall and 1-5 in Conference USA play. Meanwhile, the Mean Green improved to 8-14 overall with a 4-2 mark in league action.
 
The Lady Techsters saw positive play from freshman outside hitter Lara Hendricks, who led the team with 12 kills, while hitting .333 (12-3-27) for the evening. Sophomore Carter Mirich followed closely behind with seven kills, while also notching a team high 11 digs. Starting libero Alyssa Zucco (11 digs) and freshman outside hitter Jordyn Carswell (10 digs) both notched double-digit kill efforts.
 
The Mean Green outhit the Lady Techsters, .283 to .189 on the evening while notching 51 kills as a team, opposed to Tech's 34.
 
In the first set, Tech came out strong, striking for an early 3-1 lead. Shortly after, still leading 4-2, Tech saw the Mean Green piece together a 5-0 run, placing the hosts in front 7-4. North Texas would not trail the rest of the frame, extending its lead as large as nine, en route to a 25-20 set-one triumph.
 
The second set saw more of a back-and-forth affair early on, as neither team led by more than three, until the hosts took a 12-9 lead midway through the frame. North Texas would further extend its lead to as many as five at 20-15, before Tech responded, cutting the deficit to two after a big combo block from Emily Boylan and Madeline Davis. However, the Mean Green took three of the final four points, and escaped with a 25-21 triumph, taking a 2-0 match lead.
 
In the third and final set, North Texas gained an early edge behind an early 5-0 run. Trailing 10-4, the Lady Techsters turned the momentum, and took 12 of the next 18 points, knotting up the match at 16 all. Both sides traded barbs before the Mean Green closed out the match on a 7-0 run, taking the final set, 25-18.
 
The Lady Techsters will return to C-USA action on Sunday afternoon, taking on Southern Miss in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, at 1 p.m. CT. Live stats and video links can be found on the LA Tech Volleyball schedule page at LATechSports.com.