Temple went into its fourth set against Binghamton on Wednesday with a chance to cruise to a much-needed victory. Temple easily won the previous two sets and looked to close out the game and pick up its second straight win.
The Owls secured a point off a Bearcat service error to tie the game at 11 and had a chance to seal the deal. Instead, Binghamton rolled over the Owls, outscoring them by 11 the rest of the way to steal the momentum entering the fifth set.
In the do-or-die fifth set, both teams traded blows hoping to pull out the victory. The Owls were able to rebound from their disastrous fourth set and won the final set 15-13 to win their second straight match.
Temple (8-9, 1-3 American Athletic Conference) squeaked past Binghamton (12-7, 2-1 America East Conference) 3-2 Wednesday afternoon in McGonigle Hall. After a three-game losing streak where the Owls only won a single set they have bounced back with two straight wins to regain momentum entering the bulk of conference play.
“We’re super happy with the outcome,” said Temple head coach Linda Hampton-Keith. “Not always with the way we played, but what I liked is that we responded. A midweek non-conference matchup is tough to do in the middle of the conference, but we wanted to challenge ourselves and we did and we got the win.”
Temple seemingly gained the upper hand in the opening set by scoring the first two points, but Binghamton quickly responded with a 6-1 run that gave them control. Temple answered with a 5-1 run of its own sparked by outside hitters Sydney Jones and Taylor Davenport to regain the lead at 13-11. The pair recorded five combined kills to aid Temple in getting a stranglehold on the match.
Following a media timeout, the Bearcats took the initiative, going on an 8-1 run that forced Temple to use both its timeouts. The Owls did their best to make a late comeback by scoring five of the last eight points but could not finish and Binghamton closed out the set winning 25-22.
The second set started close as both teams began the set exchanging points. Temple took command with ease after a six-point run to take a 12-5 lead. The Owls struggled with giving away big leads all season but flipped the script and won the second set 25-13.
“Every match is an opportunity to get better and I feel like we got better the last two matches as a volleyball team,” Hampton-Keith said. “We’re going to keep rolling and hope to be better this weekend too. We’ve hopefully given ourselves some confidence going into it.”
With the match tied at one, both teams aimed to win the third set and gain the advantage. Despite falling behind 2-0 out of the gate, the Owls scored nine straight points to take the lead. Binghamton went on a 5-1 run to draw the set closer before Jones scored the kill that gave the Owls a 25-15 victory.
The Owls’ defense impressed in the third set, holding Binghamton to just five kills and keeping their hitting percentage to just .091. Temple’s serving was key as they managed to get four aces in the third set.
Temple looked to put the match to bed in the fourth set but Binghamton didn’t go down without a fight. The set started slow with neither team taking the lead early until Binghamton put together a 7-1 run to take the lead at 15-11. The Bearcats didn’t give up the lead for the rest of the set, winning comfortably, 25-14.
“Whether we win or lose there’s still some things we can always improve on,” said middle blocker Chelci Banks. “We are always looking to improve and how we can be better.”
In the fifth and final set, Temple raced out to the lead and never looked back. The Owls went on a 5-1 run to take the 7-1 lead. However, the Bearcats marched back with a 5-2 run to tie the set 11-11.
Looking for a spark to finish the match, Temple called a timeout. Jones recorded two back-to-back kills right after the timeout and recorded the final kill to win the set 15-13. Her three kills helped Jones earn a season-high 25 kills.
Temple will head south this weekend, looking to continue its win streak as they play UAB (5-10, 0-4 AAC) on Oct. 11 at 8 p.m.
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