Volleyball Tops Tulane to Complete Weekend Sweep

Sunday, October 19

New Orleans, La.

2:00 PM

Temple University

14-6, 5-3

Tulane

5-15, 3-5

Temple

Tulane

Kirsten Overton recorded 10 kills without an error against Tulane

Photo by: Joseph V. Labolito/Temple University

Volleyball Tops Tulane to Complete Weekend Sweep

10.19.14 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

NEW ORLEANS, La. – Temple volleyball hit a conference-record .471 in a three-set sweep on the road at Tulane on Sunday afternoon. The Owls (14-6, 5-3) dispatched Tulane (5-15, 3-5) using set scores of 25-23, 25-16, and 25-20.

Head Coach Bakeer Ganes stressed the importance of junior setter Sandra Sydlik's contributions in the team's recent offensive surge. "There's a reason we're hitting so well, and it's because Sandra puts the hitters in the best position on every ball," he noted. "She played well at both ends of the court this weekend. She was great on defense and also contributed on offense with a number of kills."

Five Owls hit better than .450 in the match, led by sophomore Kirsten Overton and junior Halle McCullough who each recorded 10 kills and hit .750 or better. Senior Jennifer Iacobini had seven winners with a .500 hitting percentage, while freshman Dara Peric had nine kills and hit .471. Sydlik recorded 41 assists in the match, while also having four kills on four attempts. Also for the Owls, sophomore Tyler Davis had nine kills, while Peric (12 digs) and junior Alyssa Drachslin (10 digs) led the defense.

Set one featured 15 ties and seven lead changes, and was tied as late as 21-21. Temple gained a little breathing room with two kills from McCullough and one from Davis to make it 24-21. However, Tulane battled back with a Sarah Ray kill and an ace to make it 24-23. After a timeout, the Owls got what they needed, as a kill from Overton gave the set to Temple at 25-23.

Temple led from start to finish in the second set and held a five-point advantage much of the action. Tulane came within three points late in the set at 19-16, but the Owls closed it out with Davis on the line serving for six straight points. Temple forced a pair of attack errors by Tulane down the stretch, sealing the 25-16 set win.

Set three was another close one, and was tied at 16-16 after 32 points had been played. The Owls gained the momentum with a 7-1 run that included a pair of Overton kills to take a 23-17 lead. After a sideout, a McCullough kill made it 24-18 and set point. Tulane rallied for two points, but an Iacobini winner sealed the 25-20 set and 3-0 match for Temple.

The win today, combined with the win on Friday night at Houston, gives Temple its first weekend sweep in conference play this season. With 12 more matches (all in conference), Ganes thinks the Owls are still on an upward swing developmentally. "We still have a lot of areas we can get better, but right now, the team understands that it takes everyone's contributions to sustain this at a high level," he said. "The nice thing is that everyone is contributing offensively, but even if someone has a bad game, they haven't gotten down and they've helped out in other areas."

The Owls now return home to McGonigle Hall for another set of American matches next week. Temple will host SMU on Friday at 7:00 p.m. and then will play Tulsa on Sunday at 12:00 p.m.

Box Score