Volleyball Hosts Top-Two Conference Showdown Against UCF; Owls Also Play USF

Friday, November 7

McGonigle Hall

7:00 PM

Temple University

USF

Photo by: Joseph V. Labolito/Temple University

Volleyball Hosts Top-Two Conference Showdown Against UCF; Owls Also Play USF

11.6.14 | Women's Volleyball

PHILADELPHIA - Temple volleyball hosts a pair of American Athletic Conference matches this weekend, including a Sunday showdown of the top-two teams in the conference, when the Owls take on UCF at 1:00 p.m. Temple will open the weekend with a Friday night match against USF at 7:00 p.m.

Temple (18-6, 9-3) has won six in a row, matching the team's longest winning streak of the season, and surpassing the previous best American win streak of five. The Owls are coming off a pair of conference road victories. On Friday, Temple swept Memphis in a battle of two of the top three teams in the conference. Senior Jennifer Iacobini led the Owls with a .389 hitting percentage, piling on nine kills and a match-high seven blocks. On Sunday, Temple defeated Cincinnati, 3-1, led by sophomore Tyler Davis who recorded a double-double with 15 kills and 14 digs.

Iacobini was named to the American Weekly Honor Roll for her play last week, as the senior hit .372 with 21 kills (3.00/set), 11 blocks (1.57/set), nine digs (1.29/set) and three aces. For the season, sophomore Kirsten Overton leads the team and is second in the conference with a .415 hitting percentage. Against conference opponents, Davis has a team best 3.73 kills per set, while junior Sandra Sydlik has a conference-best 11.62 assists per set. Senior Alyssa Drachslin anchors the defense, averaging 4.72 digs per set, which rises to 4.81 against American opponents.

USF is 10-14 with a 4-8 mark in the American. Temple took the season opener against USF, 3-0 (25-20,25-14,25-20) marking the first Owls win against USF in 11 tries. The Bulls are the American's best blocking team, averaging 2.29 blocks per set. They are also third in aces per set with 1.31. Jennica Mullins is second in the conference in blocks per set (1.20), while Erin Fairs is third in kills per set (3.85) and fourth in total aces (28).

UCF is 19-5 with a perfect 12-0 record as the top team in the American. The Knights swept Temple earlier this season, topping the Owls (25-17,25-17,25-16) in Orlando. UCF leads the American in hitting percentage (.294), kills per set (14.61), and assists per set (13.81). Individually, Delaina Sarden leads the American in hitting percentage (.431), while Kaye-Alese Green (.412) is third. Jale Hervey (3.50) and Kia Bright (3.07) both average over three kills a set for UCF. After winning the first two meetings between the programs, Temple has dropped four straight to UCF, all four coming in American Athletic Conference play.

OF NOTE...
• Temple is 18-6 overall this season, carrying a 9-3 mark against American Athletic Conference opponents. The Owls are tied for second in the conference with Memphis.
• The Owls are coming off another weekend sweep, this one coming on the road at Memphis (3-0) and Cincinnati (3-1).
• Temple has won six matches in a row, matching its longest win streak of the season and surpassing the previous program best of five in a row in the American Athletic Conference.
• The Owls rank in the top three in the American in: hitting percentage (.251 - 2nd), kills per set (13.82 - 2nd), assists per set (13.01 - 2nd), and digs per set (16.65 - 3rd).
• Senior Jennifer Iacobini was named to the American Weekly Honor roll for the first time in her career. For the week, she hit .372 with 21 kills (3.00/set), 11 blocks (1.57/set), nine digs (1.29/set) and three aces, accounting for 4.21 points per set.
• Sophomore Kirsten Overton ranks 11th among all players in NCAA Division I with a hitting percentage of .415. She also ranks second in the American in the category.
• Sophomore Tyler Davis has recorded double-digit kill totals in eigth of 12 American matches this season, including posting 26 kills against SMU. She ranks fouth in the conference with 3.73 kills per set against American opponents.
• Junior Alyssa Drachslin has recorded double-digit dig numbers in all twelve conference matches, including recording a season-best 30 against SMU. She averages 4.72 digs per set.
• USF is 10-14 with a 4-8 mark in the American.
• Temple took the season opener against USF, 3-0 in Tampa, 25-20,25-14,25-20, beating the Bulls for the first time in program history.
• USF is the American's best blocking team, averaging 2.29 blocks per set. They are also third in aces per set with 1.31.
• The Bulls' Jennica Mullins is second in the conference in blocks per set (1.20), while Erin Fairs is third in kills per set (3.85) and fourth in total aces (28).
• UCF carries a 19-5 overall record, with a perfect 12-0 mark as the top team in the American.
• The Knights swept Temple earlier this season, topping the Owls (25-17,25-17,25-16) in Orlando.
• UCF leads the American in hitting percentage (.294), kills per set (14.61), and assists per set (13.81).
• Delaina Sarden leads the American in hitting percentage (.431), while Kaye-Alese Green (.412) is third. Sarden is fifth in the nation in the category, while Green is 16th.
• 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 eight times in 2014. Sydlik, Overton, and Drachslin have each done it twice, while Davis and Iacobini have done it once each.
• Head Coach Bakeer Ganes is now in his fourth year at the helm of the program, with an overall record of 61-49... His record for the last two seasons (2012 and 2013) was 37-23.

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