Temple University Athletics
Temple University
15-6, 6-3
USF
13-10, 7-2
Volleyball Loses in a Tight Three Sets at USF Despite 19 Kills From Gabriella Matautia
10.27.13 | Women's Volleyball
TAMPA, Fla. - Despite an extremely strong performance from senior Gabriella Matautia, Temple volleyball narrowly came out on the wrong end of each set in a three-set loss at USF on Sunday afternoon. The Owls (15-6, 6-3) lost by scores of 25-21, 25-21 and 25-23 to the Knights (13-10, 7-2).
Matautia knocked down an impressive match-high 19 kills while also tying for match-high honors with 16 digs. She committed just three errors to lead Temple with a hitting percentage of .471. Sandra Sydlik also recorded a double-double with 11 digs to go with 35 assists, and Kayla Yingling tallied 13 digs as the Owls' starting libero.
"We had a much stronger performance than we did at UCF," said Temple head coach Bakeer Ganes. "Gabby had a monster game. It was a very close match, but whenever it got to about 20 points, we made a few mistakes that cost us. We had some new kids playing today that don't normally get out there. That made things different. It was a long weekend for us and I wanted to see what some other players can do."
Four kills apiece from Halle McCullough and Matautia helped Temple hang with USF in the first set. The Owls recorded two more kills than the Knights, but a number of early blocks for USF put Temple behind. Ciara Brown knocked down two kills in the final four points to seal the win for the Knights.
Led by nine kills from Matautia, Temple narrowed a five-point deficit down to one, 21-20 in the second set. USF used a 3-0 run to earn set-point, and Temple was able to fight it off only once before an Erin Fairs kill gave the set to USF. Fairs finished with 15 kills and 15 digs to lead her team on the afternoon.
With nine ties and six lead changes, the third set was the closest of the day. Temple led near the midway point and was tied with the Knights at 21-21 before a couple of costly errors put the Owls behind for good.
"We have things to work on and hopefully improve before we play again next weekend," said Ganes. "It will be good to be back home to recover and regroup. We have two tough teams coming in next week in Louisville and Cincinnati, so we will refocus and come out and see what we can do."
