DENTON, Tex. – The Louisiana Tech volleyball team dropped the first of three straight road matches, falling 3-0 (25-17, 25-20, 25-17) to North Texas on Sunday afternoon in the Mean Green Volleyball Center.
Rhett Robinson led the Mean Green (13-8, 7-2 C-USA) with 17 kills, and Valerie Valerian added 15 more. Both Valerian and Robinson hit over .350.
Carter Mirich posted a team-high eight kills for the Lady Techsters.
Madeline Davis and
Kaitlyn Adams finished with seven kills apiece.
"UNT has a couple of very talented hitters that we once again failed to contain, and that was the most glaring difference in the match," said LA Tech head coach
Amber McCray. "We made runs when we served aggressively and stayed keyed in on our block, but ultimately we didn't do that consistently enough. Our main focus now is getting healthy and putting together a solid week of practice to get ready for a crucial weekend on the road."
Tech struggled to get going early on, falling 25-17 in the day's first set. The Lady Techsters finished the frame with ten errors and hit just .156 as the Mean Green pulled away with a six-point run midway through the frame. Tech battled at the end, scoring five of the set's final seven points including two kills from Adams, but it wasn't enough to complete a comeback.
Elena Takova helped the Lady Techsters rebound in the second set. The Sofia, Bulgaria native posted three of her four kills in the frame, including one that put Tech up 18-17. UNT responded after a timeout. The Mean Green held the Techsters without a kill for the remainder of the set to win 25-20.
After taking a 2-0 lead, North Texas used a pair of runs in the third set to secure the victory. The Mean Green went up 12-7 after a three-point spurt early and then led 22-13 after a late four-point run. From there, UNT coasted to the 25-17 victory.
The Lady Techsters continue their stretch of three straight road matches with a trip to Marshall and Middle Tennessee next weekend.
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