Temple University Athletics
Temple University
13-6, 4-3
Houston
9-10, 1-6
Volleyball Wins on the Road at Houston
10.17.14 | Women's Volleyball
HOUSTON, Tex. - The Temple volleyball team picked up an American Athletic Conference win on the road on Friday night, as the Owls topped Houston in four sets, 25-19, 19-25, 25-17, 25-15. Temple moves to 13-6 overall, 4-3 in the American, while Houston dips to 9-10, 1-6.
Despite carrying a .500 record, Houston entered the match with the conference's (and perhaps the nation's) top offensive threat in Kadi Kullerkann. The junior carries the highest kills per set average (4.99) in NCAA Division I and has led the Cougars to a third place ranking in the conference in hitting percentage (.239). Tonight, while Kullerkann reached her fifth-straight match with 20 or more kills, the Owls held Houston to just a .176 hitting percentage, while Temple hit .278.
Head Coach Bakeer Ganes called it a total team effort and an exceptional performance, as the Owls executed their goal of making runs while Kullerkann was rotated out of the front row. "No match in this conference is an easy one," said Ganes. "Houston is big and disciplined and we focused on stopping their offense by slowing them down. We did a great job staying consistent and everyone contributed."
Temple had a number of stellar performances on the night, led by junior Sandra Sydlik who recorded 41 assists, 13 digs, a career-best eight kills, and a team-high hitting percentage of .615. Sophomore Tyler Davis and freshman Dara Peric also recorded double-doubles, as Davis tied a career best with 17 kills and added 13 digs, while Peric had 11 kills and 11 digs. Sophomore Kirsten Overton recorded six kills without an error to hit .462, while senior Jennifer Iacobini had seven kills and a pair of aces. Rounding out the box score, senior Alyssa Drachslin (16) and junior Kayla Yingling (15) combined for 31 digs in the win.
Temple took control of 17-17 match in set one, using a Yingling ace, a Sydlik kill, and Houston attack error to give the Owls some breathing room at 20-17. After the teams traded sideouts to make it 23-19, Temple closed out the match with kills from Iaocobini and Peric to nab a 1-0 lead.
Houston rebounded for a second set victory, turning an 11-8 deficit into a 17-14 advantage using five kills off the arm of Kullerkann. Temple narrowed the gap with kills from Peric and Overton to make it 23-18, but the hosts closed out set with another Kullerkann winner and a Temple attack error to tie the match at 1-1.
With the match knotted at 1-1, Ganes said his team was still confident. "We were in that set, we were competitive, so we didn't get down. We stayed confident and it paid off because we took control and finished out the match playing really well."
Temple grabbed an early 9-4 lead in set two and didn't relinquish the advantage. Kills from Iacobini and Peric put the Owls ahead 13-7, before Houston inched closed with kills from Kullerkann and Courtney Smith to make it 14-11. Again, Temple surged ahead, closing out the set with strong hitting from Peric and Davis, nabbing a 25-17 victory to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
In the third and final set, Houston led 2-1, but Temple quickly turned the tables and didn't look back. The Owls forced nine hitting errors in the set and allowed the Cougars just nine kills and a .000 hitting average. The Owls, meanwhile, hit .348 to cruise to a 25-15 set victory, sealing the fourth conference win for the cherry and white.
"In the last set, we did a great job of serving to put them out of system on offense," said Ganes. "Their setter wasn't able to get their hitters the high percentage shots, so it really benefitted our defense. I really attribute it to our aggressive serving."
Temple will play another American match this weekend, heading to Tulane on Sunday for a 2:00 p.m. start.Â
Box Score
