Owls lose third straight match in loss against Cincinnati

After falling behind 2-0, Temple Volleyball (7-10,1-5 American Athletic Conference) mounted a huge comeback to tie their game at two sets apiece against The University of Cincinnati (4-11, 2-3 American) at McGonigle Hall Friday night. However, the Owls suffered a 3-2 loss against the Bearcats after a sloppy fifth set. The Owls, who are now 1-5 in this season’s conference play lost their second five-set match this season because they were not able to keep up their run and close down the stretch. 

KEY PLAYS

• A service ace by freshman outside hitter Carly Glendinning gave the Bearcats a four-point lead in the first set that they continued for the rest of the match, taking the set 25-22. 
• Sophomore middle blocker Abby Walker’s kill in the second set continued the away team’s momentum, giving the Bearcats a 20-13 lead.
• Junior middle blocker Kayla Spells’ solo block brought Temple within five, making the second set close. 
• A kill by sophomore outside hitter Shaye Eggleston gave the Bearcats the win in the second set, taking it 25-17.
• Sophomore setter Patrycja Zielinska’s service ace gave Temple some momentum in the third set, allowing them to take a 17-13 lead. 
• A kill by freshman middle blocker Samantha Jo Mikosky gave Temple the win in the third set 25-22.
• Back-to-back kills by Jo Mikosky and sophomore outside hitter Taylor Davenport pushed Temple to win the fourth set 25-20.
• After an attack error by Spells, it gave the Bearcats the edge, allowing them to win the set 15-8 and take the game 3-2.

THE NUMBERS

• Cincinnati freshman opposite hitter Avry Tatum and Davenport led the game in kills with 22 each.
• Davenport led the game with 71 attack attempts.
• Temple redshirt-senior right-side Peyton Boyd led the game with five blocks.
• The Bearcats hit .237 percent while Temple only managed to hit .160 percent. 
• Temple Volleyball is now 1-5 in conference play this year. 

WORDS FROM COACH

“Just hang in there,” said head volleyball coach Linda Hampton-Keith. “We’re fighting, we’re working hard, we’re doing everything we can, we just have so many new pieces of this puzzle that we’re trying to put together. We just have to be able to consistently put it together for a whole entire match.”

ON TAP

The Owls will look to pull out a win in their next game against the University of Central Florida (12-1, 4-1 American) on Friday, Oct. 14 at 7 p.m.