Volleyball Takes on Houston, Tulane this Weekend

Friday, October 17

Houston, Texas

7:00 PM

Temple University

Houston

Photo by: Mitchell Leff

Volleyball Takes on Houston, Tulane this Weekend

10.16.14 | Women's Volleyball

PHILADELPHIA. - Temple volleyball hits the road this weekend for another set of American Athletic Conference matches. The Owls (12-6, 3-3) visit Houston (9-9, 1-5) at 7:00 p.m. on Friday night and then travel to Tulane (4-14, 2-4) for a 2:00 p.m. match on Sunday.

Last week, Temple split a pair of conference matches against teams in the top-three of the league standings. On Friday, the Owls hit a season-best .396 in a 3-0 sweep against Cincinnati. Sophomore Tyler Davis led the attack with 16 kills and just one error, hitting at a .456 clip, while junior Sandra Sydlik recorded a double-double with 39 assists and 14 digs. On Sunday, Memphis rallied past the Owls for a 3-1 win. Davis again led the offense, posting a career-best 17 digs, while freshman Dara Peric had her third career double-double with 16 digs and 13 kills.

Overall, Overton leads Temple with a .405 hitting percentage, ranking her third in the conference and 23rd in NCAA Division I. In six American Athletic Conference matches this season, Davis leads the Owls with 3.50 kills per set, while Peric averages 2.58. Sydlik averages 11.24 assists per set in conference play, while junior Alyssa Drachslin averages 4.58 digs per set.

Houston has won two of the three meetings between the programs, which include a split in a pair of regular season American matches last season and a solo match in 1999 (won by the Cougars). Temple will need to contain the conference's (and perhaps the nation's) best offensive threat in Houston's Kadi Kullerkann. The junior leads NCAA Division I and the American with 4.99 kills per set and 5.27 points per set. She averages 11.1 swings per set on the attack, and has recorded four-straight matches with 20 or more kills.

Temple and Tulane will meet for the first time in program history on Sunday. The Green Wave are in their first season of American Athletic Conference play, after competing in Conference-USA last season. Tulane is 4-14 on the season, but has a pair of American wins in 2014. Freshman Sarah Ray leads the Green Wave with 3.28 kills per set.

HEADLINES
• Temple is 12-6 overall this season, carrying a 3-3 mark against American Athletic Conference opponents.
• The Owls split a pair of American Athletic Conference matches at home last weekend, defeating Cincinnati (3-0) and falling to Memphis (3-1).
• The Owls rank in the top three in the conference in four categories: hitting percentage (2nd - .249), assists per set (2nd - 12.75), digs per set (3rd - 15.92), and kills per set (3rd - 13.58).
• Sophomore Tyler Davis was named to the American Athletic Conference Honor Roll for her play last week. She recorded back-to-back career-best games, recording 16 kills against Cincinnati and then 17 kills against Memphis.
• In the last three matches, freshman Dara Peric is averaging a double-double with 10.67 kills and 11.67 digs, including a career-high 16 digs in Sunday's match against Memphis.
• Junior Halle McCullough has also come on strong in the last three matches, averaging 10.00 kills and 2.67 blocks, including a 14-kill performance against Memphis.
• Sophomore middle Kirsten Overton currently ranks 23rd among all players in NCAA Division I with a hitting percentage of .405, also ranking her third in the American.
• Junior libero Alyssa Drachslin is 57th among all players in NCAA Division I, averaging 4.62 digs per set. Those numbers rank her fourth in the American.
• Houston enters Friday's match with a 9-9 overall record, including a 1-5 mark in the American.
• The Cougars rank second in the conference in kills per set (13.62) and third in hitting percentage (.229).
• Houston's Kadi Kullerkann leads the nation (and the American) in kills per set (4.99) and points per set (5.27). She has recorded four-straight matches with 20 or more kills.
• Tulane is 4-14 overall, with a 2-4 mark in its first season of American Athletic Conference play.
• The Green Wave are fifth in the American in blocking, averaging 2.13 blocks per set this season.
• Temple won three of the four tournaments it competed in this season, taking team titles at the Syracuse Invitational, its own Temple Invitational, and the Big 5 Tournament hosted by Penn.
• Junior setter Sandra Sydlik was named the Big 5 Tournament MVP, and was also named Under Armour OwlSports.com Athlete of the Week recognition.
• Drachslin was named the Tournament MVP of the Temple Invitational, and was joined on the All-Tournament Team by senior Jennifer Iacobini and freshman Dara Peric.
• Overton was named the Tournament MVP of the Syracuse Invitational, and was also named to the All-Tournament Team and the American Athletic Conference Weekly Honor Roll.
• Head Coach Bakeer Ganes is now in his fourth year at the helm of the program, with an overall record of 57-49... His record for the last two seasons (2012 and 2013) was 37-23.

Match Notes (PDF) * Houston Live Video * Tulane Live Video