Boston College Athletics
Boston College
4-3
Temple
6-1
Volleyball Holds Off Temple In 5 Sets
September 12, 2014 | Volleyball
Chestnut Hill, Mass. -
Boston College (3) Temple University (2)
The Eagles took on the Temple Owls for their first match of the weekend at the LIU Brooklyn Invitational at 4:30 p.m. this afternoon.
Four Katty Workman kills began set one of what proved to be a long, tough match for both squads. Freshman Sol Calvete then stepped in and put a ball away for the Eagles. Temple kept the score close, getting their own kills and digging tough hit balls.
A huge block from Julia Topor and Anna Skold plus a kill from freshman middle hitter Brittany Pavich kept the maroon and gold in control at 12-8. A few mental errors allowed the Owls to creep back in within one point at 15-14, but Topor put a stop to their three point run with a monstrous kill from the outside.
The Eagles then grabbed their own three point streak and a few more to inch within four of the first set victory, forcing Temple to call their second timeout of the set.
BC glided the rest of the first set to a 25-18 victory. At the end of set one Workman led the team with six kills, Barnum had dished out 15 assists and Topor and Pavich each had three total blocks.
Set two started strong for the Eagles as they jumped out to a 6-1 lead. Temple called an early timeout to regroup her team. An influx of kills from the outside, middle and right side brought the score to 12-4 in the Eagles' advantage at the beginning of the second set.
Barnum continued to dish out the assists, allowing the Eagles to hold the lead the entire second set, taking it 25-17. Workman notched four more kills in the set, bringing her total to 10. Pavich and Topor brought their totals to eight and seven, respectively. Courtney Castle led the team with three aces.
The Eagles team that came out in set three was a team determined to take the match in three sets, but on the opposite side, a fierce Owls team was not ready to back down in straight sets.
Topor put away two balls and Calvete had one kill in within the first five points of the set. The Owls and Eagles traded points on kills and errors, eventually bringing the score to 11 all early in set three. The Owls pulled ahead for the first time in the match at 14-15, but a Barnum-Pavich block tied the game again.
Two kills from junior Sarah Mendes gave BC a 20-18 lead heading into the final points of set three, which proved to be a battle. The Eagles and Owls butted heads, but Temple ultimately trumped the Eagles 29-31 in set three, bringing the match to set four.
Set four showed new life in the Owls, jumping out to a 1-4 lead over BC. The Eagles battled back, but still had a three point deficit at 6-9 after three kills in a row from Workman, Calvete, Pavich.
The Eagles continued to fight, but they still faced the obstacle of the multiple points they trailed from the beginning, creating a tough comeback situation. Errors from the Eagles and offensive power from Temple brought the score to 17-21 late in the fourth. The Owls finished their fourth set push, winning 20-15.
The fifth and deciding set started with a Topor kill, giving the Eagles momentum in the quick 15 point game. Pavich put away two balls early in the fifth as well.
Temple held the 6-8 advantage at the mid-set switch, but two consecutive kills from Skold put BC up 10-9.
Once again, the Eagles and Owls were tied up heading into the final points of the match. At a 14-14 tie, two attack errors from Temple sealed the victory for the Eagles.
In the five set battle BC was on fire offensively, with five hitters notching double digit kills. The Eagles were led by outside hitter Workman and middle hitter Pavich who both had 18 kills. Calvete, Skold and Topor each had 11. Mendes also had four kills, seeing some of her most success in game action this season.
Senior captain and setter Barnum had a strong showing with 55 assists. Pavich also sealed things up at the net, stopping Temple attempts for eight block assists.
The Eagles will face the host team, LIU Brooklyn tomorrow morning at 10:00 a.m. in the Steinberg Wellness Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. After, the Eagles will play again at 4:30 versus Northern Kentucky.
