Box Score
PHILADELPHIA – Recording the most digs since September of 2008, the Temple volleyball team hung tough with the 20th-ranked team in the nation, Saint Louis (22-6, 14-1), losing in a tight four-set match by scores of 23-25, 32-30, 25-22 and 25-17.
It was the final regular season match for the Owls (13-11, 9-6), who have secured the fourth seed among six teams in next weekend’s Atlantic 10 Tournament at Dayton. Temple will face fifth-seeded George Washington on Friday, Nov. 20. Each team swept the other on its home court in the regular season.
Playing in the final home matches of their careers, seniors Jackie Morrison and Yun Yi Zhang were both impressive for Temple, recording double-doubles. Morrison tallied 45 assists to go along with a career-high 23 digs, while Zhang led all players with 23 kills and also recorded 12 digs. Ariel Pierre tied for team-high dig honors with Morrison, also recording 23.
Four players recorded double-figures in kills for Saint Louis, led by Megan Boken with 20. Whitney Roth notched a double-double of 54 assists and 23 digs for the Billikens.
Temple out-hit Saint Louis .225 to .122 in the first set, which saw eight ties, the final one at 20-20. The Owls led 24-21 before the Billikens fought off two set points, but Temple’s Jovana Radojevic knocked down a kill to end the set in the Owls’ favor.
Fighting back from a 24-19 deficit in a dramatic second set, Temple went on to have four set points of its own. But Saint Louis rallied each time, and after a service error at 29-29 on the Owls, Boken evened the match at 1-1 with a kill for Saint Louis.
Temple looked to gain momentum back in the third set, leading by as many as five points at 18-13, but after rallying back to tie the score at 20-20, Saint Louis took over. The Billikens never trailed in the fourth set as the Owls lacked offense in comparison to their earlier performances.
The appearance in the A-10 Tournament will be the 14th straight for Temple. The Owls have earned a berth every year under 15th-year head coach Bob Bertucci, except for his first at the helm of the program.