Box Score

DENTON, Texas – Houston Baptist sophomore middle blocker Madeline Gaffney had 11 kills, but the Huskies fell to host North Texas, 3-0 (25-21, 25-21, 25-23) Saturday afternoon in the North Texas Invitational at the North Texas Volleyball Center.
 
Senior outside hitter Heather Leaverton added nine kills, while junior middle blocker Caiti Wenger had five kills and five blocks for the Huskies (1-1). Senior setter Victoria Weatherly had 26 assists and five digs, while sophomore libero Esther Longoria led HBU defensively with 10 digs and freshman outside hitter Haley Mueller added nine.
 
Courtney Windham led North Texas with 11 kills and six blocks, while Carnae Dillard had nine kills and seven digs. Eboni Godfrey had eight kills, and Shelby Tamura recorded 21 digs for the Mean Green.
 
HBU took a 7-3 lead in the first set on an ace by sophomore defensive specialist Haley Hoffman, but North Texas climbed back within two at 11-9, then tied the set at 12. The Huskies answered by scoring the next three points, but the Mean Green scored the next three to tie it again at 15. The teams traded sideouts until North Texas scored three points in a row to take a 22-20 lead and go on to a 25-21 decision. Gaffney led the Huskies with four kills in the set, while Windham had five and Dillard added four for the Mean Green.
 
A five-point run early in the second gave North Texas a 7-2 lead, but HBU fought back cut the deficit to one at 11-10. The Huskies remained within one at 13-12, but the Mean Green scored five of the next six points to take an 18-13 advantage. North Texas scored four-straight to get to set point at 24-17, but HBU would not go quietly, scoring four points in a row, before falling, 25-21. Leaverton had four kills for the Huskies in the set, while Windham and Dillard each had three for the Mean Green.
 
Back-to-back blocks put the Huskies ahead 7-5 in the third, then a kill by Gaffney and an ace by Weatherly extended the lead to four. The Mean Green came back to take a 14-12 lead, but back-to-back aces by Keith put HBU up by one. Wenger had two-straight kills and assisted on a block with Leaverton as the Huskies scored four-straight to go ahead, 19-16. HBU led 22-18, but North Texas scored five in a row to take a 23-22 lead. The Huskies finally sided out to tie the set, but the Mean Green scored the last two to clinch the match, 25-23.
 
North Texas hit .144 for the match, while HBU hit .120. Each team had seven blocks but the Mean Green held the advantage in digs, 46-32. North Texas had eight aces and only two service errors, while HBU had four aces and seven errors.
 
The Huskies wrap up the season-opening tournament later today when they face UMKC at 5 p.m.