Temple University Athletics
Temple University
17-8 (8-5)
SMU
18-9 (10-4)
Volleyball Defeated by Conference Foe SMU on the Road
11.15.13 | Women's Volleyball
DALLAS, Texas - The efficiency of the SMU offense was the difference in a 3-0 loss for Temple volleyball on the road Friday night, but the Owls (17-8, 8-5) made it a tough sweep for the Mustangs (18-9, 10-4), particularly in the third set. SMU won by scores of 25-19, 25-16 and 27-25.
Leading Temple was senior Gabriella Matautia with 11 kills and nine digs. Alyssa Drachslin also recorded nine digs, and Jennifer Iacobini recorded the Owls' best hitting percentage of .318, knocking down nine kills with only two errors.
"We made some unforced erros that really hurt us tonight," said Temple head coach Bakeer Ganes, "and SMU did a good job capitalizing on those. They also kept theirs to a minimum...We have another opportunity to fix what we did wrong on Sunday, and I think the quick turnaround is an advantage. We made mistakes on our own side and we can fix those and put ourselves in a better positon to compete on Sunday.
"We knew every match would be a battle in this very tough conference," said Ganes. "The main thing is that we have been competitive, not only winning but also being competitive in losses...We have a lot of underclassmen playing and that is really encouraging for the future."Â
SMU found a way to cut down on hitting errors against a Temple team that leads the league in opponent hitting percentage. The Mustangs hit .441 in the first set and .367 in the second, and each time the Owls were unable to hang on down the stretch.
Temple came to life in a tightly-contested third set which saw 10 ties and six lead changes. Six of Matautia's 11 kills came in the third set as she led a rallying effort by the Owls, who fought off two match-points before earning a set-point of their own. SMU's Caitlin Bula, who finished with a match-high 13 kills, recorded three of those kills in the final three points of the match to tie the score and then seal her team's win.
The Owls will be back in action on Sunday, Nov. 17 in a 2:00 p.m. (EST) contest at Houston.
