Temple entered its matchup against Rider Wednesday searching for its first road game in more than a year. The Owls have struggled mightily on opponents’ courts but had a chance to change that in a matchup against a team they easily disposed of in the season opener on Aug. 30.
The first two sets between Temple and Rider were equally matched, as both sets went above 25 points. The Owls took both sets and were on the brink of finally winning a road game before falling into a six-point hole in the third set. Temple mounted a comeback, but it wasn’t enough as Rider pushed the match to a fourth set.
The fourth set looked as if it was going to mimic the first two, but the Owls eventually built a lead and never let Rider make it close. They closed out the Broncs in the final set to win the match for their second win against Rider on the season.
Temple (10-12, 2-6 American Athletic Conference) defeated Rider (7-15, 6-3 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) 3-1 on Wednesday night. The win marks Temple’s first road victory since defeating Charlotte on Oct. 21, 2023.
The Owls opened the first set with a 5-2 advantage to set the tone, but the Broncs responded with a five-point run to take the lead. The set remained competitive throughout, and the Broncs managed to gain a 23-22 lead after a kill by middle hitter Carley McAleavey. The kill forced Temple to call a timeout to try and salvage the first set.
Coming out of the timeout Rider scored again to take a 24-22 lead and a one-set hole seemed inevitable for Temple. However, a kill by outside hitter Sydney Jones and a Broncs attacking error tied the match at 24. Rider regained the lead after an attack error by outside hitter Taylor Davenport, but the Owls scored three straight points to escape the first set 27-25.
Temple rolled to begin the second set, opening up an early 8-4 lead and continuing its first-set momentum. The Owls held Rider at arms length for much of the set but the Broncs refused to go down quietly. They went on a four-point run to tie the set at 18 which forced Temple head coach Linda Hampton-Keith to call a timeout to try and slow the momentum.
Both teams continued to exchange points coming out of the break until Rider took the lead at 22-20. Jones sparked a three-point run to give Temple the lead again by recording back-to-back kills. Rider answered and got to set point which caused Hampton-Keith to use her second timeout. The timeout worked in favor of Temple, who went on a three-point run to win 26-24.
Rider started the third set hot, springing out to a 5-1 lead to prevent the sweep. A five-point run in the middle of the set extended the Broncs lead to seven with the score at 16-9. Temple attempted to make a late comeback and almost succeeded after cutting its deficit to one point, but the Owls were unable to score another point after that. Rider closed out the set following two Temple errors to win 25-22.
Both teams exchanged points to open the decisive fourth set until Temple found a spark to break away. Temple went on a 6-1 run to take the lead at 10-6 and never looked back.
The Owls continued to pull away and extended their lead to 20-13 after two Davenport kills and a Rider attack error. The Broncs used a timeout looking to ice Temple but were unable to make a run following the timeout. The two teams exchanged points until Temple cruised to victory 25-18 with a kill by Jones making the final blow.
Once again, the Owls were led by Jones and Davenport as they recorded 24 and 19 kills, respectively. Temple finished the day with more kills, aces, digs and a better-hitting percentage than Rider.
Temple returns to conference play this weekend at McGonigle Hall against UTSA (7-14, 1-7 AAC) on Oct. 25 at 6 p.m.
Be the first to comment