DENTON, Texas – Louisiana Tech's volleyball team fell 3-0 (25-16, 25-16, 25-17) at North Texas on Sunday at the Mean Green Volleyball Center.
 
Right-side hitters Elena Takova and Elizabeth Sandoval paced the Lady Techsters with seven kills apiece. Takova hit at a .294 clip to tally two straight games with a hitting percentage over .290 against a conference opponent.
 
"I felt we played hard today against a very talented and well-coached UNT team, and we had a chance in each set if we can just take away one of their runs," head coach Amber McCray said. "We had more blocks them today, and that is something we will try to capitalize on tomorrow, but we must stay more low-error offensively and convert the opportunities we have."
 
After falling behind 12-8 in the first set, LA Tech scored six of the next eight points to knot the first stanza at 14-14. A combined block from Sandoval and freshman Morgan Smith capped the 6-2 run for Tech in the first set. The Mean Green, however, responded with a 7-0 run to turn a one-point lead into a 23-15 lead before closing out the set at 25-16.
 
LA Tech and North Texas (7-9) traded points in the second set until the match reached 10-10, which is when the Mean Green went on a 4-0 run to put them ahead for good in the second stanza. Freshman Faith Menary gave the Lady Techsters a quick start at the beginning of the second set, helping her team win five straight points with her behind the service line. Menary also tallied two kills during the five-point run for the visiting team.
 
North Texas clinched Sunday's behind a key 5-0 run in the third set, responding to a kill from Smith to stretch out its lead before clinching the match with a 25-17 set win.
 
Setter Abigail Hildenbrand paced the Lady Techsters with 27 assists in Sunday's match while also logging three kills. Defensively, Hildenbrand, junior Natalie Honore and freshman Ainsley Yanz led LA Tech with seven digs apiece. Smith led all players in Sunday's match with three block assists.
 
North Texas' Valerie Valerian led all hitters with 10 kills on the day. Mean Green setter Kaliegh Skopal tallied 29 assists to lead the home team.
 
LA Tech will face off against North Texas on Monday at 1 p.m. for its final road match of the 2020-21 season. The Lady Techsters will then return home to begin a two-match series against UTEP next Sunday.