Volleyball Wins Back-to-Back Matches at Big 5 Tournament

Saturday, September 5

Philadelphia, Pa.

1:30 PM

Temple University

3-3

Villanova

5-1

Temple

Villanova

Volleyball Wins Back-to-Back Matches at Big 5 Tournament

9.5.09 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

Yun Yi Zhang and Jackie Morrison named to All-Tournament Team as Owls finish second

Box Score (Temple vs. La Salle)
Box Score (Temple vs. Villanova)

PHILADELPHIA – Showing impressive perseverance, the Temple volleyball team rebounded from disappointment last night and earned a 3-0 win vs. La Salle as well as a 3-2 win vs. Villanova on the second and final day of the Big 5 Tournament. The Owls had a long five-set match Friday night, and returned to the Palestra to win their 10:00 a.m. match as well as their 1:30 p.m. match.

Temple finished second of four teams with a 2-1 record at the tournament, which was won by host school Penn. Yun Yi Zhang and Jackie Morrison each earned Big 5 All-Tournament Team honors. Temple now stands at 3-3 overall, while Villanova recorded its first loss and is now 5-1. La Salle is 1-6 after its loss to the Owls.

“Today's outcomes were really significant,” said head coach Bob Bertucci, now in his 15th year at the helm of the program. “We really beat ourselves last night, and that was a very emotional loss. To come back early today and have to play back-to-back matches was a tall order, and our performance spoke volumes about the character of this team.”

The Owls made quick work of La Salle in their first match of the day, especially in the first set with a 25-10 victory. The scores tightened up throughout, but Temple still won convincingly by scores of 25-15 in the second set and 25-20 in the third.

Temple's hitting percentage of .426 in the win was its best since hitting .434 nearly two years ago, also against La Salle.

Yun Yi Zhang was perfect with eight kills and zero errors, while Jovana Radojevic also knocked down eight kills and recorded only one error. Ariel Pierre tallied a match-high 13 digs, and Jackie Morrison dished out 26 assists.

The Owls did not look to become the winning team early on against Villanova, losing the first set 25-9. But they recovered for a 25-23 win in the second set, then lost the third 25-20 and won the fourth, 25-18.

Villanova's attack was stifling at the outset, as the Wildcats recorded 15 kills with zero errors as a team in the first set. Temple consistently kept its errors to a minimum throughout the match, allowing the Owls to stay the mix.

Temple had to fight once again in the final set after Villanova opened on a 6-1 run. With the score later tied at 13-13, Zhang knocked down back-to-back kills to give the Owls the win.

Zhang finished the match with a season-high 33 kills while hitting .355, and recorded a double-double with 10 digs. Morrison also notched a double-double with 43 assists and 12 digs. Sophomore Jasmine Waters was strong with eight kills and zero errors, and freshman Chelsea Tupuola saw her first action as libero and came up with a team-high 15 digs.

Temple will take next weekend off from competition, and will not play again until hosting two-time defending national champs Penn State on Friday, Sept. 18.