After Temple Volleyball underperformed last week at the South Carolina Gamecock invitational, the Owls (5-5, 0-0 American Athletic Conference) shifted their focus to bouncing back this weekend at the Texas A&M Invitational.
The biggest stinger last week was a five-set nailbiter to Presbyterian on Sept. 8. The Owls and the Blue Hose traded blows the entire way, but Temple was unable to seal the deal and dropped its third straight game.
Temple traveled to Texas looking to bounce back — and they did just that. The Owls dropped their first game in straight sets but recovered to win their next two games and finish the weekend 2-1.
Friday: Temple defeated 3-0 by Texas A&M
Temple began their weekend pitted against unbeaten Texas A&M (6-0, 0-0 SEC). The Aggies showcased their dominance by taking down Temple in straight sets.
In the first set, the Aggies jumped to an early 9-2 lead. Temple tried to fight back, getting the score to 15-9, but A&M scored nine straight points to pull away and win the first set comfortably 25-10.
The Owls got off to a quicker start in the second set and kept it close. Both teams exchanged points, with neither being able to pull away. That was until the Aggies scored six unanswered to take the lead 20-14. Temple was unable to make a comeback, losing the second set 25-18.
Temple played their best volleyball of the day in the third and final set. They exchanged points to open the set and even jumped out to a 12-7 lead. The Owls worked to prevent an Aggies comeback but to no avail. Temple went on another 5-0 run late to take a 22-16 lead and was on the brink of stealing a set from the Aggies. However, they were unable to finish the job as A&M went on a 6-0 run to get back in the match.
A back-and-forth finish followed with both teams exchanging points. The Aggies refused to let up, scoring three straight points to win the set and send the Owls home with a loss.
Outside hitter Taylor Davenport led the team with 12 kills on the day. Outside hitter Olivia Hummel provided 8 kills of her own, but the Owls lacked additional standout performers.
Saturday: Temple wins 3-0 against Louisiana
Temple was determined to snap its five-match losing streak against Louisiana (2-5, 0-0 Sun Belt). The Owls did exactly that, jumping out to a quick one-set lead on their way to a comfortable 3-0 win against the Ragin Cajuns.
The Owls embarked on a fast 5-2 run to set the tone, but the lead continued to bounce back between both teams. Temple had the chance to end the first set after taking a 24-20 lead but, Louisiana scored three straight to cut the deficit to one. Temple put the set on ice when outside hitter Christiana Greene secured the set-clinching kill.
The second set was similar to the first, with neither side taking a big lead to take a stranglehold of the game. Temple changed that when they switched gears on a 4-0 run to take a 12-10 lead, and took full advantage after the fact. Louisiana found itself in the same four-point hole but couldn’t mount the comeback effort again and fell 25-20.
The Ragin Cajuns went into the third set desperate to stay alive, while the Owls hoped to put the match away. Louisiana snatched a quick 8-5 lead but it evaporated as a slow and methodical Temple comeback followed.
The Owls regained their lead and finished off Louisiana with an 8-2 run. Temple picked up the victory in the third and final set of the day 25-19.
Davenport once again stood out with a team-high 19 kills. Setters Lexi Yoza and Ava Blascziek impressed with 38 combined assists. The Owls looked to carry the performance into Sunday and end the weekend on a winning streak.
Sunday: Temple defeats New Hampshire 3-2
The Owls took on New Hampshire (4-4, 0-0 America East) to close out the weekend. Last Sunday, Temple fell in five-sets to Presbyterian. The outcome was different this go around and the Owls managed to scrape out a 3-2 win.
The opening set got off to a bad start for Temple, who found themselves in a 9-2 hole. The deficit proved too large to recover from, as the Wildcats cruised to a 25-15 victory. New Hampshire’s defense impressed with eight blocks and kept Temple’s hitting percentage at 0%.
Temple was determined to bounce back in the second set and started off strong, going on an early five-point run to take a 7-3 lead. The Owls were able to keep the Wildcats at arm’s reach the rest of the way and picked up the victory in the second set 25-20.
Temple continued the momentum they had built in the previous set, getting out to an early 3-0 lead in the third set. The Owls never looked back, leading for the entire set in dominating fashion. Temple played an exceptionally clean set, committing just two errors on the way to a 25-19 victory.
The fourth set was the closest of the day, with both teams going back and forth to start. Temple sprinted out to a 3-1 lead, causing Wildcats head coach Christopher Feliciano to call timeout with his team trailing 10-7. The timeout sparked life into the Wildcats as they ripped off six unanswered points, causing Temple head coach Linda Hampton-Keith to call a timeout of her own.
New Hampshire managed to complete the comeback in the fourth set with four straight points late to take the lead and then the set 25-23. Temple was unable to carry over its error-clean momentum, committing nine in the fourth set.
The Wildcats began to pull away in the decisive fifth set, scoring four points unanswered causing Temple to use both of its timeouts. The Owls came out from the timeout on fire, scoring six straight points to sneak away with a victory.
Davenport had another dominant performance, finishing with 27 kills. Temple outperformed New Hampshire all across the stat sheet with more kills, assists, digs and a higher hitting percentage.
The Owls will look to build off the successful weekend at the Wildcat Challenge next week. They open up the weekend against Villanova (4-4, 0-0 Big East) on Sept. 20 at 4:30 p.m.
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