Hill, Lee, Walker Post Career Highs In Hard-Fought Match Against North Texas

Texas Southern put forth a valiant effort but came up short in a 3-1 home loss to North Texas on Wednesday evening inside the H&PE Arena.
 
TSU and UNT were neck-and-neck to start the first set as it was tied at 11-all after Kourtni Collier's kill. However, UNT went on a 6-2 run to lead 17-13 and added another 4-1 surge once TSU closed to within 17-14 to claim set one 25-18.
 
The Tigers took control in set two early as Gracie Hill added two aces and a kill to spark a 7-1 run. UNT fought back and tied it at 13-all but a Gracie Lee kill and Collier block moved TSU back on top 16-13. UNT once again closed the margin to 16-15 but the front line took control and sparked a 5-1 run for a 21-16 margin.  The back-and-forth affair continued as UNT drew to within 22-20 but Morgynne McQueen came up with a big kill to force set point followed by Gracie Hill's kill to finish off the set 25-22.
 
TSU had control of set three early with a 15-11 margin but an 8-0 UNT run turned the tide as they claimed a 19-15 lead. TSU would get within three on two more occasions but couldn't overcome the margin as they fell 25-22.
 
Set four saw UNT break open a 12-9 contest and turn it into a 17-9 lead as the young Tigers did everything they could to claw back but ran out of gas as the match came to an end.
 
Hill had a career-high 17 kills while Lee had a career-best 10 kills. Freshman Kennedi Walker had a monster game at setter with 43 assists while Angelika Rusin added 15 digs. Collier had four solo blocks and three assisted blocks.
 
TSU is back in action this weekend at the Islander Classic in Corpus Christi, Texas as they'll face Jacksonville State at 11 a.m. Friday and North Florida at 8 p.m. later that night. They'll close out tourney play against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at 2 p.m. Saturday.