Volleyball Concludes Conference Play with Home Matches this Week

Wednesday, November 26

McGonigle Hall

7:00 PM

Temple University

Tulane

Seniors Tiffany Connatser, Alex Schmitt, Jennifer Iacobini

Seniors Tiffany Connatser, Alex Schmitt, and Jennifer Iacobini will be honored following Friday's match

Volleyball Concludes Conference Play with Home Matches this Week

11.25.14 | Women's Volleyball

PHILADELPHIA - The Temple Volleyball team will wrap up its American Athletic Conference schedule with a pair of home matches this week. The Owls will host Tulane on Wednesday at 7 p.m. for International Student Night and will then play Houston on Friday at 7 p.m. on Senior Night.

The 22-8 Owls are coming off a pair of losses to Tulsa (3-2) and SMU (3-1) and are now in a three-way tie for second place with those two teams. The weekend results marked the first time all season that Temple had lost two in a row during the conference season.

Sophomore Tyler Davis and freshman Dara Peric lead the Owl attack with 3.41 and 2.75 kills per set, respectively. Sophomore Kirsten Overton has the team's best hitting percentage at .396, which ranks her third in the conference and 20th in the nation. Junior Sandra Sydlik ranks second in the American with 10.85 assists per set, while junior Alyssa Darchslin leads the Owl defense with 4.68 digs per set, including notching double-digit dig totals in all 18 conference matches this season.

Tulsa is 5-25 overall with a 3-15 record in the conference. Temple claimed the first ever meeting between the programs, a 3-0 win (25-23, 25-16, 25-20) in New Orleans, La. on October 19. Tea Juric leads the Green Wave with 3.23 kills per set, ranking her seventh overall in the American, while Sarah Strasner is fourth in the conference with 110 total blocks.

Houston is 14-16 overall, recording a 6-12 mark against American opponents. Temple claimed the last meeting with Houston, winning 3-1 (25-19, 19-25, 25-17, 25-16) in Texas, to knot the all-time series at 2-2. The Cougars are led by Kadi Kullerkann's 5.02 kills per set, which tops the American and is fifth in the nation. Natalie Keck leads Houston and ranks third in the conference with 4.97 digs per set, while Keandra McCardell is fifth with 10.18 assists per set.

Following the match on Friday, Temple will honor the Class of 2015: Tiffany Connatser, Jennifer Iacobini, and Alex Schmitt.

HEADLINES
• Temple is 22-8 overall this season and is one game back in the American at 13-5. The Owls are tied for second with SMU and Tulsa, after splitting the season series with each team.
• The Owls have reached the 20-win mark for the first time since the 2005 season and also boasted a 10-match win streak this season, longest since the 2003 team won 15-straight matches.
• Temple was swept on the road last week, falling at Tulsa and SMU. It took the Owls nine weeks in conference play to suffer two losses in a row.
• The Owls rank in the top three in the American in: fewest errors per set (4.60 - 1st), hitting percentage (.240 - 2nd), digs per set (17.09 - 2rd), kills per set (13.67 - 3rd), and assists per set (12.80 - 3nd).
• Junior setter Sandra Sydlik ranks first on the team with 18 double-doubles (assists-digs). She ranks second second overall in the American with 10.85 assists per set.
• Sophomore Kirsten Overton ranks 20th among all players in NCAA Division I with a hitting percentage of .396, which is third in the American in the category.
• Sophomore Tyler Davis has recorded double-digit kill totals in 11 American matches this season, while freshman Dara Peric has added 10. In conference play, Davis ranks fourth with 3.41 kills per set against American opponents, while Peric with 12th with 2.75.
• Junior Alyssa Drachslin has recorded double-digit dig numbers in all 18 conference matches, including recording a season-best 30 against SMU. She averages a team-best 4.68 digs per set.
• Senior Jennifer Iacobini recorded 13 blocks against SMU, tying for the highest individual total in conference history. She now ranks second on the Owls with 83 total blocks, behind Overton (96).
• Tulsa is 5-25 overall with a 3-15 record in the conference.
• Temple claimed the first ever meeting between the teams, a 3-0 win (25-23, 25-16, 25-20) in New Orleans, La. on October 19.
• Tea Juric leads the Green Wave with 3.23 kills per set, ranking her seventh overall in the American, while Sarah Strasner is fourth in the conference with 110 total blocks.
• Houston is 14-16 overall, recording a 6-12 mark against American opponents.
• Temple claimed the last meeting with Houston, winning 3-1 (25-19, 19-25, 25-17, 25-16) in Texas.
• The Cougars are led by Kadi Kullerkann's 5.02 kills per set, which tops the American and is fifth in the nation. Natalie Keck leads Houston and ranks third in the conference with 4.97 digs per set, while Keandra McCardell is fifth with 10.18 assists per set.
• 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.
• Sydlik was named the Big 5 Tournament MVP, Drachslin was named the Tournament MVP of the Temple Invitational, and Overton was named the Tournament MVP of the Syracuse Invitational.
• Temple players have appeared on the American Weekly Honor Roll 10 times in 2014. Overton leads the way with four selections, while Sydlik has three. Drachslin has one it twice, while Davis and Iacobini have earned the nod once each. Sydlik was also named a Player of the Week.
• Head Coach Bakeer Ganes is now in his fourth year at the helm of the program, with an overall record of 67-49... His record for the last two seasons (2012 and 2013) was 37-23.