When Temple jumped out to a quick nine-point lead in the opening set against North Texas, it looked like the Owls were going to coast to a first-set victory. But the Mean Green quickly came storming back with five straight points.
Temple, just like it did in its last win against Tulane on Nov. 8, weathered the storm and responded by taking the set’s final point to take a 1-0 lead. The Owls found themselves in a similar situation in the following two sets. They had a dominant eight-point lead late in the second set as well as a five-point lead in the third set. However, North Texas clawed its way back into the game both times. The Owls were able to take all three sets thanks to the early cushion they gave themselves.
Temple (13-15, 5-9 American Athletic Conference) swept North Texas (8-17, 5-9 AAC) 3-0 Sunday afternoon. With only two more games before the AAC tournament, the Owls are fighting for a top-eight position in the conference to earn a trip to the postseason.
“[The win] means so much as far as the conference standings go right now,” said head coach Linda Hampton-Keith. “You just have to be really good at managing where you are. Our next one is at home as well, so we really want to take advantage of that.”
The Owls opened the first set with high energy — displaying great ball movement as their first four points came off kills. But the Mean Green didn’t roll over and it became a battle at the net. With the score tied at 10 apiece, Temple fired off four kills and an ace to take a five-point lead.
The Owls finally found a spark to break away from the Mean Green and a kill by middle blocker Alyssa Finister put Temple at set point with a comfortable nine-point lead. Not threatened by the score, North Texas put together a 5-0 scoring run. Middle blocker Chelci Banks put the ball away to give the Owls the opening set win 25-20.
Banks along with outside hitters Taylor Davenport and Sydney Jones headlined the offense in the first set as they accounted for 13 of the Cherry and White’s 18 kills.
“We’re all just so confident in each other that we’re not even stressed out,” Jones said. “We just know someone is going to get the next play, no matter who it is.”
Early in the second set, the Mean Green came out more poised. North Texas focused on the defensive end and recorded four blocks after only having one in the first set. However, it was not enough and after trading kills, the Owls cracked the set open with an 18-11 lead.
Just like the opening set, Temple endured another run from North Texas. The Mean Green executed a 13-6 scoring run to tie the set at 24. The Cherry and White persevered and won the second set 27-25 after three North Texas errors.
“I feel like we always have trust in each other and once they go on big runs, we have to stay calm,” said outside hitter Christina Green. “We keep each other up, we tell each other what the next play is going to be and we keep each other ahead.”
Entering the third set, Temple looked to sweep the Mean Green. North Texas wouldn’t go down without a fight. In a gritty, defensive affair, the Owls found themselves up 14-11 midway through the third set.
The Cherry and White possessed a commanding 22-17 lead, but the Mean Green were once again able to chip away at the lead with a 3-0 scoring run. However, two consecutive kills from Jones sealed the third set 25-21 as the Owls completed their second straight sweep.
Jones and Davenport carried the offensive load in the game with 15 and 13 kills, respectively. On the defensive end Banks and Greene were strong with four and two blocks. Libero Hikialani Kaohelaulii also impressed, recording 29 digs.
“Having a big home weekend like this — going 2-0 and sweeping is a huge deal,” Hampton-Keith said. “Now we’re really positioned well to make the conference tournament.”
The Owls look to extend their win streak to three as they take on East Carolina (16-8, 9-5 AAC) on Nov. 15 at 6 p.m.
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