Halfway through Temple’s first set against UAB, the Owls had their backs against the wall but had a chance to pull out a first-set comeback. The Blazers clung to a five-point lead before the Owls started to mount a comeback.
The Owls were within two points before the lead ballooned back up to five but they once again cut the lead to a single point. Temple could not maintain the momentum and were never able to get any closer than that as UAB was able to close out the first set.
The first set was the beginning of the end for Temple and it never recovered from the early 1-0 deficit. The Blazers took over from there, taking the next two sets to snap the Owls two-game winning streak.
Temple (8-10, 2-4 American Athletic Conference) was swept by UAB (6-10, 1-4 AAC) 3-0 Friday night at Bartow Arena. The Owls had 18 more attacks than the Blazers but finished with 25 attack errors to derail their hopes of pulling out the win.
Temple’s offense failed to establish a rhythm early on due to UAB’s lockdown defense. The Blazers produced six blocks in the first set with middle blocker Chloe Rodriguez being responsible for three of them.
Outside hitter Taylor Davenport recorded five kills in the first set, hoping to bring the Owls back. It was all for nothing as the Blazers kept them at arm’s length despite Temple cutting the lead to 20-19. Temple dropped five of the next seven points to lose the first set 25-21.
The Owls immediately reeled off two consecutive points to grab a quick 2-0 lead at the beginning of the second set. That lead was short-lived as UAB responded with a 6-0 run led by outside hitter Abby Jones, who knocked down ten kills in the match.
Temple went on a 4-0 run to give itself some breathing room after struggling throughout the set. Outside hitters Sydney Jones and Davenport combined for 14 kills in the opening two sets. The two led the Owls in kills with 13 and 11, respectively in the match. Their efforts weren’t enough as UAB closed out the second set 25-19.
The Owls desperately needed to get off to a hot start in the third set to extend the match. Instead, the exact opposite happened, with UAB going up 5-1. The Blazers kept their foot on the gas and stayed in front for the rest of the way, leading by as many as 12 points in the set.
Like the previous set, the Cherry and White caught fire towards the end of the third set, looking to avoid getting swept for the seventh time this season. The Owls found themselves down 20-8 but surged on an 8-0 run. Sydney Jones played a key role in the effort with four kills during the run.
In the end, the Owls dug themselves too big of a hole to take the set and extend the match. Despite Davenport’s late-game heroics by recording two kills and two aces, Abby Jones iced the set 25-22 with a game-winning kill.
The loss continues the Owls’ road match woes this season. Temple now drops to 0-7 away from McGonigle Hall with five of them being sweeps.
Temple will hit the road again to take on Memphis (8-9, 2-3 AAC) on Oct. 13 at 2 p.m. in hopes of winning its first road game of the season.
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