DENTON - North Texas volleyball fell in a five-set thriller to Kansas State (25-18, 13-25, 25-16, 25-27, 11-15) to open the North Texas Challenge.
Valerie Valerian led the Mean Green (5-5) with 18 kills.
The Wildcats (5-5) out dug the Mean Green 87-64. The battle at the net swung the way of the Mean Green who had seven blocks compared to Kansas State's five. Freshman
Alysha Johnson added 11 kills, a new career high.
"It's been an adjustment with the speed of college play," Johnson said. "I'm still learning. I'm still progressing and listening to my coaches. I like learning. I'm feeling more comfortable with my speed and I know I can get faster with each game and practice."
Johnson set a new career high a game after accomplishing the same against Prairie View A&M.
"She's been progressing," head coach
Andrew Palileo said. "She listens, she wants to learn and do things the right way. She asks the right questions. We're excited for her. The whole team is excited for her. You hear the questions she asks her coaches, and everybody sees the improvement. Her personality lends to people being excited for her."
Both teams had strong early sets. North Texas hit .280 in the set one win while the Wildcats hit just .138. The inverse was true in set two as the Mean Green hit just .020 and the Wildcats hit .324.
The Wildcats rallied to win a tense set four in which both teams hit around .350. Kansas State hit a match high .444 in the final set, picking up nine kills on 18 attacks. There were a total of 12 lead changes between the two teams.
Barbara Teakell and Valerian both provided double-doubles. Valerian had 12 digs while Teakell picked up 11 kills and 16 digs.
"We just didn't play defense on the level that we needed to play," Palileo said. "We gave ourselves opportunities, we did some nice things. We need to be able to handle the moment. As coaches we are going to do a better job"
North Texas returns to action on Friday at 6 p.m. against New Mexico, who fell to Ohio in straight-sets in the first match of the North Texas Challenge.