Temple Volleyball entered the third set against South Florida Friday night desperately looking to avoid its second straight sweep. The Owls dropped the first two sets of the match and as the third set got underway the fire in Temple’s eyes was evident.
The Owls jumped out to an 8-2 lead and led for a majority of the set. Temple built its lead up to 18-12 and looked to take the set and extend the match. Instead, USF came roaring back, scoring six straight points to take a 23-21 lead. The momentum the Bulls built was too much to overcome and Temple fell in straight sets as they continue to search for its first conference win.
Temple (6-9, 0-3 American Athletic Conference) lost to USF (7-7, 3-0 AAC) 3-0 Friday evening in McGonigle Hall. The Owls have dropped each of their first three conference games and have only managed to win one set.
“A lot of it was just a mental performance, just trying to make sure we stay aggressive and stay pushing and when a team pushes back that we respond accordingly,” said Temple head coach Linda Hampton-Keith. “Credit to South Florida because they did that, they were down big and found a way to fight back and we let that lead slip away.”
Temple got off to a slow start in the first set as USF took an early 3-0 lead. The Owls fought back and were trading blows with the Bulls. Hampton-Keith was forced to take a timeout after USF found momentum to jump ahead 17-12. Temple found the spark it was looking for and came out of the stoppage going on a 6-1 run to tie the set at 18. The two teams continued the back-and-forth battle, but USF was able to pull out a 25-23 victory.
The second set saw Temple start blazing hot, taking an early 6-2 lead. The Owls looked to have a comfortable 18-11 lead, but after a timeout the Bulls managed to put together a 7-2 run to get the set within two.
From there, the momentum completely flipped in the Bulls’ favor as they tied the set at 22, forcing Temple to call a timeout. The two teams traded points, with neither able to break away to win the final two points. Until an attack error by outside hitter Taylor Davenport caused her to fall into the net leading to USF taking the set 28-26.
“We showed what we were capable of throughout this match with our ups and downs,” Davenport said. “We just need to stay better for longer.”
The Owls had a mountain of a task to climb in the third set as they were down 2-0 in the match and staring at defeat. Temple got off to just the start it needed, grabbing an early 8-2 lead. A 4-0 run for USF in the middle of the set brought the Temple lead down to 13-11.
Temple seemed to regain control of the set, extending its lead back up to 18-12. However, the Bulls would not be deterred as they went on an 8-1 run to take the lead 23-21. Temple got back-to-back points to tie it up, setting the stage for another close finish. USF took control, killing twice in a row to win the set 25-23.
Temple has consistently struggled to maintain the upper hand and that issue persisted Friday. The Owls took a commanding lead in both the second and third sets but were not able to continue the momentum to secure a win.
The Owls could not keep up with the high-octane USF offense. The Bulls finished with more attacks, kills and assists than Temple. The Owls defense did all they could, tallying 14 blocks and 30 digs, but it was not enough. Outside hitter Sydney Jones was the only Owl to record double-digit kills, finishing with 11.
“We’ve got to get back to work tomorrow,” Hampton-Keith said. “Hopefully we start working and believe in ourselves first and foremost and then go and execute. It’s been a good week of practice, obviously we are disappointed with the result, but we can see we’re right there, we’ve just got to push it over the finish line”
Temple will remain at McGonigle looking to snap its three-game losing streak when they host Florida Atlantic (9-5, 1-1 AAC) on Oct. 6 at 1 p.m.
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