Temple earns back-to-back wins against Charlotte

Temple Volleyball (15-7, 5-5 American Athletic Conference) swept its road double header this weekend against Charlotte (9-13, 2-8 AAC) with a 3-1 win on Friday and a 3-2 victory on Saturday.

Temple got its first road series victory of the season and notched its third consecutive win.

FRIDAY

KEY MOMENTS

• Temple took an early 6-1 lead in set one but gave up an 11-5 run to Charlotte shortly after, giving the 49ers the lead.
• With the Owls leading 24-21 late in the first set, they got the final kill they needed from Temple right-side hitter Avery Luoma to close the final set 25-23 and take a 1-0 lead.
• Charlotte scored eight straight points midway through the second set to take control, giving the 49ers a 18-14 lead over the Owls. 
• The errors piled up for Temple late in the set. Five straight errors from Temple pushed Charlotte to a 24-15 lead. The 49ers closed out the set 25-16 and tied the match at one.
• Late in the third set with Temple down two, the Owls went on a fabulous 7-0 run to win the set and put its stamp on the match going into the fourth set with all of the momentum and the lead. 
• Charlotte struck first in the fourth set, however that was the only lead they held for the entirety of the set. 
• Temple took a 24-21 lead and Temple outside hitter Taylor Davenport got the final kill of the match, winning set four 25-21 and the first match of the weekend 3-1. 

THE NUMBERS

• Davenport and Luoma led Temple with 12 kills each. Luoma notched her fifth double-double of the season with her season-high 21 digs and six blocks. 
• Despite overall hitting struggles, Temple won by keeping Charlotte down to a .087 hitting percentage for the match. 

SATURDAY 

KEY PLAYS

• Temple continued to play close sets against Charlotte on Saturday. The Owls tied the score at 24 late in the first set after a kill by Temple middle blocker Samantha Jo Mikosky.
• With both teams trying to get back-to-back points, Charlotte found it with a kill and attack error from Temple to take a 28-26 first set victory. 
• The second set was a similar story, but Temple was the one to find those back-to-back points with kills from Luoma. 
• With the 49ers holding a 12-7 lead in the third set, they went on a 5-0 run and never looked back, taking control of the game. 
• Charlotte took advantage of the poor play from Temple, winning the third set 25-12. 
• With Temple down 24-21 in the fourth set, it looked like Charlotte was going to win the match. However, Temple found a spark and went on a 6-1 run that was finished with a kill by Davenport to come back and win the set 27-25 and tie the game at two.
• Temple went on to close out the match with a final set win of 15-11, winning the match 3-2.

THE NUMBERS

• Luoma once again led the Owls with 17 kills for this match. Davenport and outside hitter Olivia Vance added 14 and 11 kills, respectively. 
• Temple got four of their total seven aces in the final set of the match. 

ON TAP

The Owls will stay on the road as they look to extend their win streak when they face North Texas (12-11, 6-4 AAC) on Friday, Oct. 27 at 7 p.m.