CINCINNATI, OH -- Xavier out hit Temple .421 to .181 to sweep the Owls, 3-0, in a crucial Atlantic 10 volleyball match at the Cintas Center in Cincinnati on Friday evening. Senior Zhen Jia Liu led TU with 12 kills as the Cherry and White fall to 11-15 overall and 8-2 in the Atlantic 10. With the win, the Musketeers (15-9, 9-2) move past Temple into second place in the A-10 standings. Dayton (19-6, 10-1) remains on top of the conference with a 3-0 victory over La Salle.
XU took the momentum from a 33-31 win in the first game and carried it throughout the match as they won game two, 30-18, and game three, 30-19. The first game saw 11 ties and seven lead changes but a kill by sophomore Danielle Skrajewski with the score knotted at 31-31 gave the Musketeers the edge they needed. Temple hit a match-high .277 in game one.
The opening game loss seemed to take the wind out of the sails of the visitors, as the Owls hit just .186 and .054 in game two and three, respectively. Xavier, meanwhile, was on top of its game, hitting a sizziling .528 in game two.
Freshmen Yue Liu and Sun Ying Ling both added 10 kills for TU. Senior Alison Runk dished 36 assists in defeat. Kate Duchek led Xavier with 15 kills and Jill Quayle added 13. Molly Martin added 48 helpers for the Musketeers.
Temple looks to rebound at Dayton on Saturday at 4 p.m.
