Aug. 30, 2011
Final Stats
8.30 UTA-North Texas Box Score
Photo Gallery DENTON, Tex. - Tara Frantz finished with 10 kills, but UT Arlington fell to North Texas 3-0 Tuesday night at the Volleyball Center in Denton.
The Mean Green defense held UTA to a .138 hitting percentage, allowing North Texas to come away with a 25-18, 25-17, 29-27 win.
"I think Tara and Amanda (Aguilera) got off to a slow start and then the passing went south, too," UT Arlington coach Diane Seymour said. "Then it was a combination of things. I just think we were on our heels tonight."
In the first set, the Mean Green took control with an 8-1 run after the two teams were tied at 10. The Mavericks (1-3) pulled to within five points on a couple occasions but were unable to inch any closer.
"It was definitely us and our errors," Frantz said. "In the first set we made 17 different types of errors. It was all us. We couldn't handle their serves."
North Texas jumped out to a 9-3 lead on its way to claiming the second set, 25-17. The Mavericks pulled even at 12-12, but never took the lead. The Mean Green (3-1) went on a 13-5 run to put the set away.
The final set took on a more even tone, as evidenced by 16 ties and six lead changes. North Texas finally captured the back-and-forth set, 29-27.
"It's definitely getting frustrated because we have a team that can go so far," Frantz said. "Losing in three sets is just so heart-breaking because we're so often losing by two points. It's a struggle that we have to overcome."
Aguilera led UT Arlington with nine digs. Alicia Shaffer finished with nine digs.
Melanie Boykins led the Mean Green with 14 kills.
Now UTA turns its attention to a four-match tournament this weekend at Tulsa.
"I think we're going to focus on the passing," Seymour said. "I think we'll also spend some time on some scramble plays where we're able to hopefully take over better on third contact when things don't go well. I think when we didn't pass well we just weren't aggressive enough on that third ball-contact."
UT Arlington returns to action Friday when it takes on Tulsa and UC Davis. The Tulsa match begins at 12:30 p.m. and the UC Davis first serve is scheduled for 5 p.m.
