Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Game 1 Game 2 0 North Texas UNT 3-5 3 K-State KSU 6-1 Set Scores Team 1 2 3 F North Texas UNT 18 18 21 (0) K-State KSU 25 25 25 (3) 1 North Texas UNT 3-6 3 Omaha OMAHA 4-4 Set Scores Team 1 2 3 4 F North Texas UNT 21 23 25 20 (1) Omaha OMAHA 25 25 22 25 (3) Game Recap: Women's Volleyball | 9/7/2018 8:02:00 PM UNT Shows Improvement In Friday's Losses MANHATTAN, Kan. - The North Texas volleyball team showed signs of improvement, despite dropping both K-State Invitational matches on Friday at the Ahearn Field House. "We have to keep moving forward and stay together, because our schedule doesn't get any easier," Mean Green head coach Andrew Palileo said. "We will need players to step up until ourt team is healthy again." Match One Despite a near double-double by sophomore outside hitter Valerie Valerian, North Texas fell to Kansas State, 3-0 (18-25, 18-25, 21-25). Valerian finished with a team-high 11 kills and eight digs. Valerian, who recorded just one kill in the opening frame, tallied five kills each in sets two and three. After the Mean Green (3-5) dropped a sloppy first set that saw 24 total errors on both sides of the net, Valerian contributed a trio of kills to fuel North Texas to a 7-3 advantage to open the set. The Wildcats (6-1) responded with a 10-3 run and, after the Mean Green pulled within one on a kill by freshman Rhett Robinson, closed the set on an 11-5 run. K-State earned four of its final five points on North Texas mishaps. UNT's offense woke up in the final set, recording 10 kills on its first 15 swings with just two errors. Valerian struck early and often with four of the team's first six kills, and her final kill of the match came during a 5-2 run to knot it up at 15-15. A three-point streak for the Wildcats gave them the lead for good, and K-State was able to hold off a late push from the Mean Green. Match Two North Texas student-athletes had numerous season- and career-highs in a 3-1 (21-25, 23-25, 25-22, 20-25) loss to Omaha in the night cap. Senior Karley York tied a career high with seven kills, along with 29 assists, 13 digs and an ace. Junior Olivia Petnicki tied York for the team lead with 13 digs, topping her previous career high set against No. 12 Baylor last week. Freshman Sarah Haeussler, who had seven total blocks entering the match, recorded five block assists against the Mavericks for a new career best. Haeussler tallied three of her five stops in the third set, which the Mean Green (3-6) won to snap a 16-set losing streak. The Mavericks (4-4) converted on their first five swings to begin set three, but North Texas worked the score to a 14-13 lead, thanks to a pair of block assists by Valerian, Robinson and Haeussler. Omaha answered with three blocks of their own to regain the lead at 18-15. With the Mavericks ahead 21-18, Valerian recorded three late kills to lead a 7-2 run and keep her team alive. Omaha got out to another quick start in set four, jumping out to a 7-2 advantage, but a handful of Maverick mishaps allowed the Mean Green to claw back to a 10-10 tie. Omaha scored five straight and never looked back, only allowing North Texas to climb within one. UP NEXT North Texas concludes the K-State Invitational against Oregon State at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Ahearn Field House. QUICK HITTERS - Yasmin de Lara earned her first career start on Friday. - Rhett Robinson tied a career high with two aces against K-State. - Omaha's 19 service errors were the most by a Mean Green opponent since UTSA committed 20 on Sept. 30, 2016. Print Friendly Version