East Carolina Steals the All the Owls’ Momentum in a 3-0 Sweep
Written by: Adrian Maghacot
Photo by: Temple Athletics
The Owls (10-19, 4-14 AAC) were swept by East Carolina (12-19, 7-12 AAC) on Thanksgiving Eve, giving them their fourth-consecutive loss and ninth loss by sweep.
This is their 15th loss in the conference, tied for most in the group.
This game’s main theme for the Owls was losing out on many opportunities to win a set. One example was in the third set where they were up 24-22, but ECU came back and took the set, primarily because of errors from junior outside hitter Jelena Prolic and junior middle blocker Kayla Spells.
After Spells’ attack error, the officials spent 20 minutes to see if an ECU player touched the ball before it went out, which did not happen. During that time, ECU players were seen celebrating, especially as it was their Senior Day, but Prolic and head coach Linda Hampton-Keith were arguing with the officials in an attempt to reverse the initial call.
East Carolina was also driven by a barrage of blocks. True freshman outside hitter Angeles Alderete and senior middle blocker Shaylynn Hall led the team with seven total blocks. ECU finished with eight total blocks for the game compared to Temple’s two.
The game was not as back-and-forth compared to the Owls’ previous games. There were nine total lead changes and 22 ties throughout the three sets, much fewer than Temple’s previous matchups.
The first set was close when the Owls were down 15-17, but ECU went on a seven-point run, which was primarily a result of three errors by sophomore outside hitter Taylor Davenport.
The second set was much closer as there were four separate set points, the first one being in Temple’s favor 24-22, but the Owls couldn’t hold on at the end after a kill by Alderete.
Prolic led the Owls in kills with 11, and Davenport and redshirt senior Peyton Boyd also performed well offensively with nine kills each. However, Davenport led the Owls in total errors with 14.
Alderete and redshirt freshman outside hitter Izzy Marinelli led the Pirates with 33 total kills between the two.
The Owls are looking to break their four-game losing streak and end their season on a high note traveling to Cincinnati Saturday, November 26 at 4 p.m. The team is currently 5-6 in away games.
Score by set: (18-25), (27-29), (24-26)
