Temple University Athletics
Temple Opens 2007 Season With A Pair of 3-0 Wins Over Rider And Lehigh
8.24.07 | Women's Volleyball
Aug. 24, 2007
Philadelphia-Yue Liu led Temple with 23 kills and 14 digs to allow the Owls to begin the season with 3-0 sweeps of Rider and Lehigh at day one of the Temple Invitational. The senior outside hitter had 16 kills and five digs in the day's first match against Rider and seven kills and nine digs in the second match vs. Lehigh. Temple wraps up play tomorrow with matches against Youngstown State and Akron.
Match One
Yue Liu had 16 kills, with just one error, to lead the Owls to a 3-0 victory over Rider. Yun Yi Zhang and Jaclyn Bretitgan, each tallied 13 digs in their TU debuts. Jackie Morrison and Caitlin Loudon split time as Temple's setter, dishing 17 and 13 assists, respectively.
The Owls took control from the opening whistle with a 12-5 lead and never looked back as they built as much as a 14 point lead (21-7), thanks to eight straight points. The Broncs started to fight back, earning three straight points, but they were no match for the Cherry and White who earned the first-game win, 30-15. Yue Liu posted a game-high five kills to aid in the victory.
In game two, Rider struck first but Temple scored four straight points to get back on top, 10-3. Leading by as much as nine points (26-17), the Broncs put in a last ditch effort, scoring three straight points to make it a seven point game (27-20). Back-to-back services aces by Yue nearly put the game away but it took one final kill from Cayleigh Ashman to end the game with a 30-21 result.
Facing a three-game sweep, the Broncs put up a fight in the third set, taking a four point lead (10-6). Temple scored two straight points to close the gap to two but Rider got back on track with four straight kills to make it 14-9. They continued to roll, extending their lead to as much as seven (19-12) before the Owls began to battle back to tie the score at 23 and then take a 24-23 advantage before finishing off the Broncs, 30-26.
Match Two
Patricia Vernon led Temple with 12 kills as the Owls finished off their second victim of the day, 3-0. Jackie Morrison and Caitlin Loudon continued their stellar play, dishing 14 and 16 assists, respectively.
Fresh off a match with Youngstown State, the Mountain Hawks struck first in game one for an early lead. The advantage was short-lived, however, as the Owls dominated the next few minutes, quickly building a 28-10 lead. The Mountain Hawks refused to go down without a fight, scoring five straight points to make it 28-15, but it was no match for the Cherry and White who finished them off, 30-15.
The second game was more hotly contested, with the teams going point for point in the opening minutes. Lehigh garnered three straight points to take a slight 8-5 lead but the Owls battled back to reclaim their supremacy and go ahead 21-9. Lehigh finally broke the 16 point TU run with its 10th point to make it 23-10. It seemed to ignite a fight in the Mountain Hawks, who scored eight straight points to cut the gap to seven (28-21). The Owls finally woke up to finish LU off 30-21.
Lehigh took a 4-0 lead to begin game three and was able to hold on to a four-point advantage for the next few minutes. The Owls came from behind once again to tie the game at 11. After two straight points, the Temple took its first lead, 14-12. The game remained close, with the teams trading the lead until the Owls were able to go ahead 25-21 and eventually sweep the Mountain Hawks, 30-27.
