The Owls defeated Hofstra University 3-1 Friday in the opening match of the Seton Hall Invitational, a game coach Bakeer Ganesharatnam said was a total offensive effort.
“I thought we did a good job on the attack today, especially the outside hitters,” Ganesharatnam said. “They did a good job on a putting the ball down.”
In the opening set, the Owls (3-1) defeated Hofstra 25-22 despite having two less kills than the Pride. After Hofstra tied the match at 18-18, the Owls closed on a 7-4 run to win the set.
In the second set, Hofstra continued to pressure the Owls defensively, taking a 17-13 lead. But Temple rallied and tied the match 18-18 on a kill from senior striker Sandra Sydlik. The Owls went on to win the set 25-22 with 17 kills and succeeded on 22 percent of their hits.
In the third set, the Owls earned their highest hitting percentage of the night at 37.1 percent, but it was not enough, as Hofstra took the set, 25-22.
“Hofstra really executed well in that set,” Ganesharatnam said. “We made some mistakes, that is what really put us in trouble. We had too many inconsistencies on serve receive and on defense.”
After trailing early in the fourth set, Temple rallied, winning the set 25-22 for its third time of the night. Ganesharatnam said junior outside hitter Tyler Davis played a big role in the victory.
“She is playing really well in the last few matches, especially today,”Ganesharatnam said. “I think she is on a roll right now and that is what we need her to do.”
Davis, who started in three of Temple’s four matches this season, finished the night with 12 kills and scored on 26.5 percent of her hits.
“We looked at the things we didn’t do well today, but we also talked about what we did well today and at the end of the day we got a win against a really good Hofstra team,” Ganesharatnam said.
Tomorrow, the Owls will take on Seton Hall University and the University of Notre Dame in the final day of the tournament.
Connor Northrup can be reached at connor.northrup@temple.edu
Be the first to comment