Temple falls to Memphis in weekend double header

Temple Volleyball (17-13, 7-11 American Athletic Conference) fell to Memphis (10-20, 6-12 American Athletic Conference) in back-to-back matches, losing 3-0 Friday and 3-2 Saturday.

Temple put up a fight Saturday after being swept Friday, but the Owls were unable to find the kills they needed in crucial moments to get a win against the Tigers.

NOV. 17: MEMPHIS WINS 3-0

KEY MOMENTS 

• Temple took a 9-8 lead early in the first set but gave up a 7-1 run that gave Memphis the lead. Temple scored four straight points, but Memphis closed out the first set with a kill to win 22-25. 
• Memphis opened up the second set with an early 6-0 lead and expanded it to 13-2 by the midway point of the set. 
• Temple found a groove later in the set, but Memphis took the set 25-13 and a 2-0 lead in the match. 
• The Tigers again opened up a huge lead to begin the third set at 8-2. They controlled the pace of the match and easily closed it out, winning 25-19 and earning a 3-0 victory in the first match of the weekend.

THE NUMBERS

• Temple outside hitter Jaaliyah Evans led her team in kills with nine. Outside hitter Olivia Vance led Temple with six blocks on the night.
• Memphis held Temple to a .075 percent hitting for the match and hit .210 percent themselves. 
• Memphis never gave up a lead after set one, holding on throughout the rest of the match.

NOV. 18: MEMPHIS WINS 3-2

KEY MOMENTS 

• Temple went down 18-13 midway through the first set but responded with an 8-0 run to take the 21-18 lead.
• Memphis came back and scored three straight points to tie the game, but the Owls rattled off four straight points of their own to win set one 25-21. 
• The Owls tied the second set at 19, but Memphis would not give up their lead, winning the second set 25-21 to tie the match at 1-1
• Memphis started the third set leading 7-2 and maintained the advantage throughout the set by forcing Temple’s errors. The Tigers won 25-16 and took a 2-1 lead.
• Temple, fighting to keep its chances alive, went on a 5-0 run midway through the fourth set and took a 15-6 lead. The Owls did not allow Memphis to take over, winning the set 25-20 and forcing a one final set. 
• The fifth set was close until Memphis pushed past Temple for a 12-10 lead. However, Temple scored three straight points to take a 13-12 lead, sitting two points away from winning. The Tigers answered with two points of their own, tying the game at 14. They then closed the set with two scores and won the set 16-14 and the match 3-2. 

THE NUMBERS

• Temple had a better hitting percentage, hitting .263 percent compared to Memphis’ .229 percent. 
• Temple outside hitter Taylor Davenport led the match with 28 kills, nearly triple the next-best total.
• Both teams ended the match with the same amount of total points. 

UP NEXT

The Owls have just one game left in the season. They will take on the AAC Champion Southern Methodist (23-6, 17-1 AAC) Nov. 22 at 11:30 a.m.