DALLAS – North Texas volleyball fell to SMU (25-27, 25-27, 25-17) in three sets in an exhibition match on Wednesday evening.
 
The Mean Green got critical minutes for its newcomers, led by strong performances from its veterans. Junior Valerie Valerian paced the offense with 15 kills and ended with a double-double with 21 digs. Junior Kaleigh Skopal had 33 assists.
 
"There was definitely some positives," head coach Andrew Palileo said. "It was just a matter of executing at the right moment, and we didn't do that. We can improve in the clutch moments, in the moments we need a big pass or a big swing."
 
North Texas charged back in set one and two to make it close. Both teams would have a chance at set points in each set, but SMU would take the first two sets 27-25. Valerian ended set one with six kills for a team led supplemented by four kills from junior Barbara Teakell. Skopal had 15 assists in the first set.
 
Freshman libero Jordan Burks was not shy in her first game. Burks had nine digs, an assist and an ace. All available North Texas players entered the match.
 
"I thought [Burks] played well," Palileo said. "I thought she had a good game overall. That's one of the positions we wanted to improve on in recruiting with ball control, and I thought she handled it well."
 
The Mustangs jumped out to an early lead in set three that they would not relinquish. North Texas used a timeout with the set 13-8 and picked up three straight points out of the break to make the score 13-11.
 
But the Mustangs regathered steam and finished out with a 25-17 win. The Mean Green have over a week to adjust based off tonight.
 
"Overall we were pretty cohesive," Valerian said. "There's certainly things to improve on. The first two sets were positive. We'll look at film, fix the little things and sharpen up before our first tournament."
 
North Texas returns to action opening the regular season at home on Aug. 30 against Illinois State at 9:30 a.m. before facing Pepperdine at 6:30 p.m. same day as part of the North Texas Invite.