Temple University Athletics
Friday, November 16
Pittsburgh, Pa.
7:00 PM
Temple University
19-10
3
at
2
Duquesne (A-10 Quarterfinal)
22-11
1
2
3
4
5
F
Temple
19
25
25
17
15
3
Duquesne
25
10
19
25
10
2
Volleyball team members celebrate their 3-2 A-10 quarterfinal win over Duquesne
Photo by: Dave Denoma
Volleyball Advances to A-10 Semifinals With an Exciting, 3-2 Win Over Host Duquesne
11.16.12 | Women's Volleyball
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PITTSBURGH, Pa. - Moving on to the Atlantic 10 Tournament semifinals is Temple volleyball, after the fifth-seeded Owls pulled out a 3-2 win over host and fourth-seeded Duquesne on Friday night. The Owls were led by impressive performances from a number of players, highlighted by Chelsea Tupuola's 33 digs and double-doubles from both Tiffany Connatser and Gabriella Matautia. Temple now moves on to face 12th-ranked and top-seeded Dayton on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
Temple lost the first set 25-19 but recovered in a big way for a 25-10 win in the second set. The Owls pulled ahead 2-1 for the match after a 25-19 win in the third set, but the Dukes took a 25-17 win in the fourth. Finally, Temple started strong in the fifth set and held the momentum throughout for a 15-10 win.
The win for the Owls avenged their regular season loss at Duquesne, and Temple handed the Dukes their only defeat at home in the entire 2012 season. It was the first tournament win for the Owls since 2009, which was also the last year Temple made an appearance.
Elyse Burkert knocked down a match-high 19 kills to go with nine digs, and Jingyu Zhang put down 17 kills while hitting .368. Connatser got 21 digs to go with 53 assists, and Matautia added 13 digs to go with 17 kills.
The Owls held strong until the midway point of the first set, trailing by just two at 17-15, but the Dukes then put down three kills in the next four points and Temple was not able to narrow the gap again. Duquesne was strong at the net with seven blocks in the first set, while Tupuola kept the Owls in it defensively with eight digs.
Three kills from Zhang were part of a 7-0 Temple run to open the second set. As Duquesne struggled with errors, the Owls only got hotter, quickly extending their lead to 13 at 17-4 and continuing to cruise from there. Temple closed the set on a 4-1 run with two kills from Burkert, and won the set easily by a score of 25-10. The Owls knocked down 13 kills with only three errors and hit .333 for the set, compared to Duquesne's negative hitting percentage of -.114.
Continuing to look like the stronger team, Temple maintained composure in the third set for a 25-19 win. The Owls led 15-11, but the Dukes rallied to later tie the set at 17-17. Temple then responded with a 6-0 run to put the set out of reach, and Zhang knocked down two kills in the Owls' final three points including the set-winner. Temple upped its kills to 15 in the third set from 13 in the second, while keeping its number of errors the same. Both Connatser and Matautia had double-doubles by the conclusion of set.
Duquesne returned to its first-set form in the fourth set and came out with a 25-17 win. After trailing early, 7-2, the Owls rallied to tie the set at 9-9 and again at 10 and 11. From there the Dukes started to pick up the pace, and Temple errors prevented the Owls from rallying again. Two set-points were fought off by Temple, but Duquesne put the set away to force a fifth and final set.
Within the first six points of the final set, Matautia had an ace and two kills as Temple took a 4-2 lead and then a 6-2 lead after a block and a kill from Burkert. Two more kills from Burkert soon after made it an 8-4 lead for the Owls, and they led by at least three points the rest of the way. Matautia had three more kills in the set for five in total, and a back row kill by Burkert ended the set at 15-10 as Temple won the match.
PITTSBURGH, Pa. - Moving on to the Atlantic 10 Tournament semifinals is Temple volleyball, after the fifth-seeded Owls pulled out a 3-2 win over host and fourth-seeded Duquesne on Friday night. The Owls were led by impressive performances from a number of players, highlighted by Chelsea Tupuola's 33 digs and double-doubles from both Tiffany Connatser and Gabriella Matautia. Temple now moves on to face 12th-ranked and top-seeded Dayton on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
Temple lost the first set 25-19 but recovered in a big way for a 25-10 win in the second set. The Owls pulled ahead 2-1 for the match after a 25-19 win in the third set, but the Dukes took a 25-17 win in the fourth. Finally, Temple started strong in the fifth set and held the momentum throughout for a 15-10 win.
The win for the Owls avenged their regular season loss at Duquesne, and Temple handed the Dukes their only defeat at home in the entire 2012 season. It was the first tournament win for the Owls since 2009, which was also the last year Temple made an appearance.
Elyse Burkert knocked down a match-high 19 kills to go with nine digs, and Jingyu Zhang put down 17 kills while hitting .368. Connatser got 21 digs to go with 53 assists, and Matautia added 13 digs to go with 17 kills.
The Owls held strong until the midway point of the first set, trailing by just two at 17-15, but the Dukes then put down three kills in the next four points and Temple was not able to narrow the gap again. Duquesne was strong at the net with seven blocks in the first set, while Tupuola kept the Owls in it defensively with eight digs.
Three kills from Zhang were part of a 7-0 Temple run to open the second set. As Duquesne struggled with errors, the Owls only got hotter, quickly extending their lead to 13 at 17-4 and continuing to cruise from there. Temple closed the set on a 4-1 run with two kills from Burkert, and won the set easily by a score of 25-10. The Owls knocked down 13 kills with only three errors and hit .333 for the set, compared to Duquesne's negative hitting percentage of -.114.
Continuing to look like the stronger team, Temple maintained composure in the third set for a 25-19 win. The Owls led 15-11, but the Dukes rallied to later tie the set at 17-17. Temple then responded with a 6-0 run to put the set out of reach, and Zhang knocked down two kills in the Owls' final three points including the set-winner. Temple upped its kills to 15 in the third set from 13 in the second, while keeping its number of errors the same. Both Connatser and Matautia had double-doubles by the conclusion of set.
Duquesne returned to its first-set form in the fourth set and came out with a 25-17 win. After trailing early, 7-2, the Owls rallied to tie the set at 9-9 and again at 10 and 11. From there the Dukes started to pick up the pace, and Temple errors prevented the Owls from rallying again. Two set-points were fought off by Temple, but Duquesne put the set away to force a fifth and final set.
Within the first six points of the final set, Matautia had an ace and two kills as Temple took a 4-2 lead and then a 6-2 lead after a block and a kill from Burkert. Two more kills from Burkert soon after made it an 8-4 lead for the Owls, and they led by at least three points the rest of the way. Matautia had three more kills in the set for five in total, and a back row kill by Burkert ended the set at 15-10 as Temple won the match.
Team Stats
TU
DUQ
Kills
58
54
Errors
26
25
Attempts
190
174
Hitting %
.168
.167
Points
72.0
67.0
Assists
58
53
Aces
7
2
Blocks
7.0
11.0
Game Leaders
Kills
19
Aces
2
Blocks
1
Kills
17
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
17
Aces
2
Blocks
2
Kills
3
Aces
2
Blocks
4
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