Sitting at 7-6 in the Atlantic 10 Conference the Owls host La Salle (4-25, 0-13 in the A-10) at 5 p.m. at McGonigle Hall with their postseason fate in their own hands.
Temple hosts the Explorers Friday in the regular season finale, looking to make the conference tournament for the first time in three years. A win and they’re in.
But if Temple loses that’s when things get complicated.
Dayton, Xavier, Virginia Commonwealth University and Duquesne are already in the tournament. If the season ended now Temple and George Washington would be in as well. Rhode Island and Butler are fighting for those spots as well, at 6-7 each.
The Owls are 1-1 over URI and lost to Butler on Sunday. They also lost to George Washington, meaning the Owls must hope all three teams lose if they lose to ensure they make the tournament.
The tricky part is if Temple, Butler and George Washington lose and Rhode Island wins. Because the Owls and Rams are 1-1 against each other this season they move to the second tiebreaker, which is head-to-head set record. Temple won the first meeting 3-0 and lost the second 3-2, giving them a 5-3 advantage in the edge in the tiebreaker.
Temple’s match against La Salle is the only A-10 game on Friday. If they lose they will have a long weekend waiting to find out their fate.
Rhode Island heads to Fordham on Saturday to take on the Rams at 4 p.m. George Washington travels to Duquesne on Saturday at 4 p.m. as well. The Colonials faced the Dukes once before this season, winning 3-1 at home on Oct. 5. Butler hosts Saint Louis at 5 p.m. The Bulldogs lost their first matchup of the season in St. Louis 3-1.
Obviously none of that matters if the Owls take care of business on Friday, but if they aren’t able to they will likely spend Saturday watching nervously.
This is the third matchup between Temple and La Salle this season. Temple swept La Salle in straight sets in the finale of the Big 5 Tournament in September. Junior outside hitter Elyse Burkert led the match with 12 kills.
In the A-10 season rematch the Owls swept them again, this time off the combination of junior outside hitter Gabriella Matautia’s 15 kills and Burkert’s 11.
–Jake Adams
