Owls looking to right their wrongs in final stretch of the season

Temple Volleyball has won just 11 games but have momentum heading into the final month of the season.

Temple Volleyball has six games left in the season to make a push for the American Athletic Conference Tournament | LILLIAN PRIETO / THE TEMPLE NEWS

In 2023, Temple had one of its best seasons in recent history by securing the most wins it’s had in a season since 2017. The Owls started 10-2 and entered non-conference play with sky-high confidence. However, they faltered during conference play and finished just 17-14 and missed the postseason. 

Expectations were high heading into head coach Linda Hampton-Keith’s third season in 2024 and the Owls have done everything they can to live up to the hype. 

The team’s record through the first two months of the 2024 season is uninspiring. The Owls are just 11-13 and have a 3-7 record in American Athletic Conference play, a far cry from last season. 

Hampton-Keith curated the schedule to face more difficult non-conference opponents to prepare the team for the season’s final stretch. Now, the Owls are looking to avoid another late-season collapse, like the one that spoiled their ending last year.  

“We’re putting ourselves in a position where we’re testing ourselves against really, really tough competition,” Hampton-Keith said. “Did we know the risk of probably not winning those? Sure, but it was more important to play those kinds of teams and prepare ourselves for the conference.”

While the results of the tough non-conference slate aren’t ideal, Temple remained competitive against Power 5 programs. The Owls battled No. 25 North Carolina to four sets and fought hard against national powerhouses Penn State, South Carolina and Texas A&M. The Owls hoped those matchups would help them prepare for the conference play, but their 3-7 conference record hasn’t reflected what Hampton-Keith was hoping for.

Temple has an 11-13 record through the first 24 games of the 2024 season. It appears to be a step down from last season’s 16-8 record through the same number of games, but the stats tell a different story. 

The Owls rank in the top five in the conference in points, kills, assists, aces and blocks. However, Temple sits 10th out of 13 in AAC record. Despite being one of the better teams on paper, the Owls have been swept in six of their seven conference losses.

Some of the Owls’ struggles boil down to inefficiency and late-game collapses. Temple leads the conference in errors and is ninth in hitting percentage. They have struggled to claw back into games once they fall into an early hole, winning just two matches after losing the first set. 

“A lot of it is just staying consistent,” said right-side hitter Avery Luoma. “We kind of fluctuate throughout matches, so if we can manage to stay consistent through the whole match, instead of going down and trying to fight our way back in, that would be a big help.”

The contrasting age of the roster explains the inconsistencies. Temple’s starters vary from freshmen all the way to graduate students — a mix that has provided some growing pains for the team. Hampton-Keith described the roster as “both old and young” and said they have been working on balancing the different levels of experience on the court. 

With the growing pains, multiple underclassmen have stepped up and made major impacts on the team. Outside hitters, Sydney Jones and Christiana Greene are both just freshmen, yet they are second and third on the team in kills with 251 and 142, respectively. Sophomore setter Lexi Yoza has also played an important role as an underclassman, ranking sixth in the AAC in assists with 620. 

Despite a less than ideal conference record so far, Temple still has a chance of making the conference tournament. The top eight teams will qualify for the first conference tournament held since 2020, but the Owls will need to improve their play on the road if they want to reach the postseason. 

Through ten road matches, Temple has picked up just one win and five of its conference losses have come away from McGonigle Hall. The Owls remain confident in their ability despite the win-loss record showing otherwise, said outside hitter Taylor Davenport. 

“That’s something we’ve all been talking about, being good on the road,” Davenport said. “At the end of the day it’s the same nets, same courts so just playing the volleyball we all know how to play.”

Temple has three more away matches left and will need positive results or it may cost them a spot in the conference tournament. Three straight victories before their latest loss, including their first on the road, have left the Owls feeling confident for the home stretch of matches. 

The Owls are just two wins behind the crucial top eight and with six games remaining, they still have a solid chance to climb in the standings and punch their ticket to the postseason. 

“I’m very optimistic, we still have a lot of season left and the biggest thing about them adding the conference tournament is as long as we make it in we can work from there,” Davenport said. “We’ve been working a lot on all phases of the game, offense, defense and I think everyone has put in that extra work to be the best. I trust we’ll get in and work from there.”

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