Last Night, the Bearcats (3-10) (1-3 AAC) traveled to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to take on Temple University (7-9) (1-4 AAC) as the Bearcats were looking to bounce back in the win column as they kick off a two game road series this weekend between Temple and Eastern Carolina University.
Starters for the Bearcats- Kailea Carrier, Shaye Eggleston, Carly Glendinning, Emme Madden, Abby Walker, Payton Frederick, Avry Tatum.
Set 1- The Bearcats would jump out to an early 5-2 lead behind kills from Carly Glendinning, Avry Tatum, and Shaye Eggleston, as the Bearcats were looking to spread the ball around early, but the Owls would eventually come back and tie this one up at 6 after the Owls got consecutive kills from Taylor Davenport on the outside pin. The Bearcats would respond tremendously with a 6-1 run over the Owls to take a 12-7 lead behind a kill from Tatum, a huge solo block from Kailea Carrier, and a Glendinning service ace as it was looking like the Bearcats had everything working for them early. The Bearcats would overcome a late run from the Owls after the early 6-1 run propelled a huge lead and the Bearcats would hold on to take a 1 set to 0 lead over the Owls after a 25-22 victory.
Set 2- The Bearcats would come out firing right away as Tatum would hammer home a kill on that right side to start the set, followed by a Walker kill and service ace and the Bearcats would look to jump out to an early 4-1 lead over the Owls. The Bearcats would extend their lead to 12-4 after a 6-point run that started with a kill from Glendinning, but was highlighted by four Owls errors and the Bearcats were looking to capitalize on the early mistakes. The Bearcats would keep their foot on the gas as they would hold on to take a two set to zero lead after a 25-17 victory, as many know the sport of volleyball is all about runs and the Bearcats were creating those runs at the right time right out of the gate to start.
Set 3- Temple would look to flip the script as it was the Owls who came out firing as they jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead over the Bearcats after three straight blocks and a kill from Peyton Boyd sparked a big wave of momentum as the Owls were looking to avoid the sweep. The Bearcats would bounce back though behind a service ace from Tatum and a huge kill on the outside from Shaye Eggleston to make this a 5-4 match. The Owls would flip the momentum after a 3 point run sparked a 13-10 lead over the Bearcats, as they looked to find their run and would see how the Bearcats would respond, which they responded and cut the lead to one, but the Owls sparked another run that would give them a 17-13 lead after a huge service ace. The Bearcats would respond with a huge kill from Tatum and service ace from Tatum that would force the Owls to call a timeout. The Owls would spark a late run to take a 22-16 lead over the Bearcats, but coach Alvey and the Bearcats would respond and make this a 24-22 game after another kill from Tatum, but that late run would be too much for the Bearcats and the Owls would get on the board and take Set 3, 25-22 and make this a 2 set to 1 match.
