Temple snapped its three-game losing streak Saturday, and even started a winning streak by winning both of its games.
Temple grabbed a 3-1 victory against the University of New Hampshire in the morning and a 3-0 sweep of Rutgers University to end the day.
The first game, at 10 a.m, was one where Temple was focused on making adjustments. Adjusting had been an issue for the team early in the season, but they bounced back to win in four sets.
Senior middle blocker Kirsten Overton led the Owls offensively, hitting 70.6 percent with 12 kills and eight blocks. Junior outside hitters Irem Asci and Izzy Rapacz both had double-doubles, Asci had 16 kills and 20 digs, while Rapacz had 16 kills and 19 digs.
“We made our adjustments a lot better this game,” senior outside hitter Tyler Davis said after the win against New Hampshire. “We tried to figure out what [New Hampshire] was going to do beforehand, and learn throughout the game, focusing on our side of the court.”
The second game was easier for the Owls, beating Rutgers in straight sets. Temple won the first set 25-13, the second 25-14, and the third 25-18. Asci and Rapacz led the team offensively again in the second game, finishing with 11 and eight kills, respectively. But defense was key for the Owls. As a team the Scarlet Knights only hit 1.1 percent for the game, including hitting negative in the second set.
“We just tried to play the game the way we wanted to play and that we’ve been working on,” Asci said. “I think we blocked really well to begin with, and then we were fast in the back row and got to the balls that we should have.”
Rapacz and Overton were the keys to the defense at the front. Rapacz had five blocks and Overton had six. In the back row, junior setter Kyra Coundourides led the team with 13 digs. Rutgers’ sloppy play also aided the Owls’ win. The Scarlet Knights had at least seven attack errors in every set, and 22 total for the game.
“We just let them commit errors in the first set,” Rapacz said. “After that we were able to gameplan around that and really use it to our advantage.”
Kevin Schaeffer can be reached at kevinschaeffer@temple.edu or on Twitter @_kevinschaeffer.
Be the first to comment