Temple University Women’s volleyball (5-22, 1-15 The American Athletic Conference) lost in a 3-0 shutout to the University of Tulsa (13-12, 8-8 The American) on Sunday afternoon.
Despite the results, the Owls still played one of their best matches, and their work towards preventing opponents from gaining large leads was evident throughout the match.
“I thought the way we approached the match today was much better, much more calm, more confident than it was Friday,” said head coach Bakeer Ganesharatnam.
Temple started out strong, taking an early 6-3 lead in the beginning of the first set. However, Tulsa regained the lead at 8-7, and the score remained close until the Golden Hurricane came out on top 25-23.
Temple started the second set with another lead, this time 5-1, but the Owls had two consecutive double contact violations, which allowed the Golden Hurricane to tie the set at 5-5.
Temple soon took the lead again, but the Golden Hurricane quickly responded by tying the game again and went point for point with the Owls all the way until the final plays of the set, where Tulsa pulled slightly ahead to win 25-23.
Temple faltered during the third and final set as they struggled to handle the Golden Hurricane’s offensive attack. After they made a challenge call, the Golden Hurricane extended their lead to five points.
The Golden Hurricane carried that momentum throughout the set, finishing with a score of 25 -17 set score.
Golden Hurricane’s junior outside hitter Kayley Cassaday played a large role in Tulsa’s victory, serving up a game-high of 19 kills.
Sunday’s win will push the Golden Hurricane up the conference ladder, where they’re currently holding the seventh spot.
Meanwhile, Temple continues to fall even further in the AAC standings, with just four conference matches remaining.
“I thought the involvement of everybody on this team, the bench included, was very positive today and very helpful,” Ganesharatnam said.
Graduate student outside hitter Miray Bolukbasi led the Owls in kills with nine while finishing with six digs and 10.5 points.
Owls’ freshman outside hitter Jaaliyah Evans served up the second most kills for the Owls, with eight.
“When she [Evans] came in for [Grimshaw] on Friday, I thought she did a really good job and we wanted to keep her on that right side today,” Ganesharatnam said. “I thought she did a really good job today, and she has been doing a good job throughout the year.”
The Owls will wrap up their last weekend on the road in Orlando, Florida, competing against the University of Central Florida (22-6, 15-1 The American) on Nov. 19 at 7 p.m.
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