ARLINGTON – The Texas A&M University-Commerce volleyball team fell 3-0 on Saturday afternoon via set scores of 25-19, 26-24, and 25-21, to the North Texas Mean Green at the College Park Center to conclude the UTA Classic.
 
Maddy Rashford (Placentia, Calif.) had a hitting percentage of .320 for 10 kills, while Celeste Vela (Guadalajara, Mexico) posted a double-double, her third in the last four matches, with 28 assists and 14 digs.
 
The Lions are right back on the court on Tuesday night at 6 p.m., traveling to Prairie View A&M.


POST MATCH INTERVIEW
 
Down 10-6 in the first set, the Lions won two straight to pull to 11-9, but surrendered the next five points. Four of the five points were attacking errors, including three blocks, and one service error. The Lions won four straight to come within three of the Mean Green, but after a timeout, UNT won four of the next five points to win the first set, 25-19, on a service ace by Taylor Litteken.
 
Neither side built a lead bigger than three points in the second set, until a 5-1 run by North Texas to lead 19-15. The Lions won four of the next five to come right back into the set. Falling behind 22-20 and then 24-22, the Lions fought back and tied the set each time, but a service error followed by an attacking error gave the Mean Green, the second set, 26-24.  
 
The Mean Green did not lead in the third set until a 4-1 run gave them a 19-18 lead. The Lions did not lead again in the set, despite having a three-point lead three different times in the set. UNT won six of the last eight points of the set and clinched the match win with a score of 25-21. The Mean Green are now 2-4 on the season.
 
The loss drops the Lions to 0-6 on the season, which is the longest losing streak since the spring of 2021. A&M-Commerce has not had a seven-match losing streak in a single season since 2014.
 
Reese Fetty (Farmersville) nearly missed her third double-double of the weekend. She recorded eight kills and 12 digs. Taryn Cast (Peaster) posted three blocks, while Lyric Hebert (Arvada, Colo.) had 10 digs. Kaitlyn Breland (Magnolia West) and Hebert served up two aces each.