Temple University Athletics
Temple University
8-2
Delaware State
1-6
Temple Volleyball Sweeps Delaware State, 3-0, on Day One of the Temple Invitational
9.20.13 | Women's Volleyball
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PHILADELPHIA - Dominating from start to finish, the Temple volleyball team swept Delaware State (1-6) in the Owls' first match of the Temple Invitational at McGonigle Hall. The Owls (8-2) got a double-double from freshman Caroline Grattan, who put up strong numbers of 10 kills and 13 digs in just three short sets. Temple won the match by scores of 25-11, 25-16 and 25-21.
"I thought Caroline did a really good job overall and played really good defense," said Temple head coach Bakeer Ganes about his freshman outside hitter. "She passed the ball very consistently the entire match. I thought overall, this was probably the best match she's played this season."
Gabriella Matautia, who was honored with a painted ball before the game for recently getting her 1,000th kill, led Temple with 11 kills in the victory. She also tied for team-high blocks with Jennifer Iacobini and Halle McCullough, as all three recorded four blocks.
Sandra Sydlik tallied a match-best 25 assists in two sets, while Tiffany Connatser came in for the third set and recorded 15 assists on 16 Temple kills.
"I thought it was really good for us to finish in three sets," said Ganes. "We almost completely changed our lineup in the third set and that's a very good sign that we have a lot of depth. I can honestly say we don't have a first and second team- we have two first teams. So depending on the opponent, we can change our lineup to our advantage."
Matautia knocked down five kills with no errors in the first set, helping the Owls cruise to a 25-11 win. Temple recorded 14 kills to Delaware State's five, and hit .333 as a team.
Iacobini stepped it up in the second set, and by the end of it she had six kills and zero errors on nine attempts, along with four blocks. The set saw five early ties, but the Owls then pulled away and won easily, 25-16. Once again, Temple more than doubled the kills of the Hornets in the set.
The third set was the closest of the three, but Temple stayed in the lead down the stretch and out-hit the Hornets, .231 to .000. Matautia knocked down six kills, while McCullough had three and also recorded all four of her blocks in the final set.
The Owls will return to the court for two matches tomorrow, taking on Brown at 1:00 p.m. and Hofstra at 7:00 p.m.
