Temple University Athletics
Wednesday, September 24
Storrs, Conn.
7:00 PM
Temple University
at
UConn
Photo by: Mitchell Leff
Volleyball Heads to UConn on Wednesday for American Athletic Conference Opener
9.22.14 | Women's Volleyball
Live Stats l Live Webcast l Match Notes
PHILADELPHIA - After completing the non-conference season with a 9-3 record and winning three of four tournaments, Temple volleyball is primed for success as the Owls head into their American Athletic Conference schedule. First up on the league slate is a 7:00 p.m. match at UConn on Wednesday, Sept. 24.Â
Temple is coming off a 3-0 weekend which saw the Owls sweep all three of their opponents at the Big 5 Tournament en route to winning the team title. UConn is coming off a 2-1 weekend at its own UConn Invite, finishing second in that tournament.
Leading the Huskies offensively so far is senior Devon Maugle with 2.82 kills/set and a team-best 14 aces. Junior Immanuella Anagu is the team leader in blocks with 51 (1.13 per set). Sophomore Rebecca Rivera is averaging a team-best 5.82 assists per set while Brianna Datti is averaging a team-best 4.58 digs/set. Temple swept UConn in both matches the teams played last year, and leads the Huskies 5-2 in the all-time series.
HEADLINES
• 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 to the American Weekly Honor Roll along with earning Under Armour OwlSports.com Athlete of the Week recognition.
• Sydlik was joined on the Big 5 All-Tournament Team by sophomore middle blocker Kirsten Overton, who leads all players in the American with a hitting percentage of .445. Â
• Overton currently ranks 14th among all players in NCAA Division I with a hitting percentage of .445.
• With 0.43 service aces per set (16 total), Sydlik ranks fourth in the American...She ranks fifth in the conference in assists per set at 10.1 (374 total).
• In the Owls' only losses so far this season, they took both Boston College and LIU Brooklyn to five sets before falling narrowly, and lost a four-set match to Northern Kentucky.
• UConn went 7-4 in non-conference play, which included a team title at the Bucknell Tournament.
• Temple leads UConn 5-2 in the all-time series, and swept the Huskies twice last season.
• Junior libero Alyssa 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.
• Drachslin averaged 4.75 digs per set during the Temple Invitational, and tied her career high with 28 digs in the win vs. Princeton...She currently ranks fifth in the league with 4.63 digs per set.
• 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.
• Sophomore Caroline Grattan joined Overton on the Syracuse Invitational All-Tournament Team.
• Grattan leads the Owls with 180 kills so far (3.91 per set), which ranks second in the American.
• Senior Alex Schmitt has come on strong at the net as of late, and now ranks fourth in the league in blocks per set at 1.12 (27 total)...She totaled 11 blocks in this past weekend's three matches.
• Head Coach Bakeer Ganes is now in his fourth year at the helm of the program, with an overall record of 54-46...His record for the last two seasons (2012 and 2013) was 37-23.
BIG 5 TOURNAMENT CHAMPSÂ Â Â
Temple closed out the non-conference season with its third tournament title, as the Owls recorded three sweeps in three matches to take the Big 5 Tournament title on Sept. 19-20. Temple did not drop a single set in wins over La Salle, Villanova and host Penn in defending its Big 5 title from 2012, the last time the tournament was held.
Junior setter Sandra Sydlik was named the Big 5 Tournament MVP, and was joined on the All-Tournament Team by sophomore middle blocker Kirsten Overton.
GEOGRAPHICALLY DIVERSE OWLSÂ Â Â
Temple volleyball's 16-person roster features Owls from two foreign countries and from four states outside of Pennsylvania. Junior Sandra Sydlik is a native of Berlin, Germany, while freshman Dara Peric hails from Belgrade, Serbia. Four Owls are from California, the most-represented state on the roster apart from Pennsylvania which has five. Two Owls are from Colorado, another two are from Virginia, and one hails from Illinois.Â
TEMPLE INVITATIONAL CHAMPSÂ Â Â
For the second week in a row to start the season, Temple earned a team title by going 3-0 at its own Temple Invitational on Sept. 5-6. The Owls needed mental toughness all weekend, particularly in their first two matches. They dropped set one vs. Charlotte before coming back to win the next three, and they traded sets with Princeton before winning a five-set thriller despite trailing 7-3 in the final set.Â
Junior libero Alyssa Drachslin was named the Temple Invitational MVP, and was joined on the All-Tournament Team by senior Jennifer Iacobini and freshman Dara Peric.
SYRACUSE INVITATIONAL CHAMPSÂ Â Â
With a 3-0 sweep of Delaware State on Sunday, Aug. 31, Temple volleyball finished the weekend with a perfect record of 3-0 to win the team title at the Syracuse Invitational. The Owls took down the Hornets on the final day by scores of 25-12, 25-8 and 25-18.Â
On the opening day, Aug. 30, Temple also swept Niagara by scores of 25-17, 25-21 and 25-21. Later that day, it was a five-set thriller vs. host Syracuse. The teams traded sets back and forth, but ultimately it was Temple coming out on top in the fifth and final set by a score of 15-13.
OVERTON, OVER AND OVER AGAINÂ Â Â
Sophomore middle blocker Kirsten Overton has consistently put up impressive numbers in attack percentage this season. Her current percentage of .445 ranks first in the American and 14th among all players in NCAA Division I.
Overton's performances have earned her a number of honors, including Syracuse Invitational Tournament MVP, Big 5 All-Tournament Team recognition, and American Weekly Honor Roll mention after week one.
At the LIU Blackbird Invitational on Sept. 12, Overton hit .700 with 15 kills on 20 attempts and just one error. That percentage ranks as the top performance in the conference so far this season.Â
GRATTAN STEPPING UPÂ Â Â
Sophomore Caroline Grattan came into the year as the leader among returning players for kills from 2013, and she has only put up even stronger numbers so far.Â
She knocked down a career-high 30 kills in Temple's five-set win vs. Princeton at the Temple Invitational, which is the third-most kills by any player in The American in a single match so far this season. She currently ranks second in the league with 3.81 kills per set.
HONORS & AWARDSÂ Â Â
American Weekly Honor Roll
Sept. 1 - Kirsten Overton
Sept. 8 - Alyssa Drachslin
Sept. 22 - Sandra Sydlik
Under Armour OwlSports.com Athlete of the Week
Sept. 8 - Alyssa Drachslin
Sept. 22 - Sandra Sydlik
Syracuse Invitational All-Tournament Team
Kirsten Overton, MVP
Caroline Grattan
Temple Invitational All-Tournament Team
Alyssa Drachslin, MVP
Jennifer Iacobini
Dara Peric
Big 5 Tournament All-Tournament Team
Sandra Sydlik, MVP
Kirsten Overton
PHILADELPHIA - After completing the non-conference season with a 9-3 record and winning three of four tournaments, Temple volleyball is primed for success as the Owls head into their American Athletic Conference schedule. First up on the league slate is a 7:00 p.m. match at UConn on Wednesday, Sept. 24.Â
Temple is coming off a 3-0 weekend which saw the Owls sweep all three of their opponents at the Big 5 Tournament en route to winning the team title. UConn is coming off a 2-1 weekend at its own UConn Invite, finishing second in that tournament.
Leading the Huskies offensively so far is senior Devon Maugle with 2.82 kills/set and a team-best 14 aces. Junior Immanuella Anagu is the team leader in blocks with 51 (1.13 per set). Sophomore Rebecca Rivera is averaging a team-best 5.82 assists per set while Brianna Datti is averaging a team-best 4.58 digs/set. Temple swept UConn in both matches the teams played last year, and leads the Huskies 5-2 in the all-time series.
HEADLINES
• 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 to the American Weekly Honor Roll along with earning Under Armour OwlSports.com Athlete of the Week recognition.
• Sydlik was joined on the Big 5 All-Tournament Team by sophomore middle blocker Kirsten Overton, who leads all players in the American with a hitting percentage of .445. Â
• Overton currently ranks 14th among all players in NCAA Division I with a hitting percentage of .445.
• With 0.43 service aces per set (16 total), Sydlik ranks fourth in the American...She ranks fifth in the conference in assists per set at 10.1 (374 total).
• In the Owls' only losses so far this season, they took both Boston College and LIU Brooklyn to five sets before falling narrowly, and lost a four-set match to Northern Kentucky.
• UConn went 7-4 in non-conference play, which included a team title at the Bucknell Tournament.
• Temple leads UConn 5-2 in the all-time series, and swept the Huskies twice last season.
• Junior libero Alyssa 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.
• Drachslin averaged 4.75 digs per set during the Temple Invitational, and tied her career high with 28 digs in the win vs. Princeton...She currently ranks fifth in the league with 4.63 digs per set.
• 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.
• Sophomore Caroline Grattan joined Overton on the Syracuse Invitational All-Tournament Team.
• Grattan leads the Owls with 180 kills so far (3.91 per set), which ranks second in the American.
• Senior Alex Schmitt has come on strong at the net as of late, and now ranks fourth in the league in blocks per set at 1.12 (27 total)...She totaled 11 blocks in this past weekend's three matches.
• Head Coach Bakeer Ganes is now in his fourth year at the helm of the program, with an overall record of 54-46...His record for the last two seasons (2012 and 2013) was 37-23.
BIG 5 TOURNAMENT CHAMPSÂ Â Â
Temple closed out the non-conference season with its third tournament title, as the Owls recorded three sweeps in three matches to take the Big 5 Tournament title on Sept. 19-20. Temple did not drop a single set in wins over La Salle, Villanova and host Penn in defending its Big 5 title from 2012, the last time the tournament was held.
Junior setter Sandra Sydlik was named the Big 5 Tournament MVP, and was joined on the All-Tournament Team by sophomore middle blocker Kirsten Overton.
GEOGRAPHICALLY DIVERSE OWLSÂ Â Â
Temple volleyball's 16-person roster features Owls from two foreign countries and from four states outside of Pennsylvania. Junior Sandra Sydlik is a native of Berlin, Germany, while freshman Dara Peric hails from Belgrade, Serbia. Four Owls are from California, the most-represented state on the roster apart from Pennsylvania which has five. Two Owls are from Colorado, another two are from Virginia, and one hails from Illinois.Â
TEMPLE INVITATIONAL CHAMPSÂ Â Â
For the second week in a row to start the season, Temple earned a team title by going 3-0 at its own Temple Invitational on Sept. 5-6. The Owls needed mental toughness all weekend, particularly in their first two matches. They dropped set one vs. Charlotte before coming back to win the next three, and they traded sets with Princeton before winning a five-set thriller despite trailing 7-3 in the final set.Â
Junior libero Alyssa Drachslin was named the Temple Invitational MVP, and was joined on the All-Tournament Team by senior Jennifer Iacobini and freshman Dara Peric.
SYRACUSE INVITATIONAL CHAMPSÂ Â Â
With a 3-0 sweep of Delaware State on Sunday, Aug. 31, Temple volleyball finished the weekend with a perfect record of 3-0 to win the team title at the Syracuse Invitational. The Owls took down the Hornets on the final day by scores of 25-12, 25-8 and 25-18.Â
On the opening day, Aug. 30, Temple also swept Niagara by scores of 25-17, 25-21 and 25-21. Later that day, it was a five-set thriller vs. host Syracuse. The teams traded sets back and forth, but ultimately it was Temple coming out on top in the fifth and final set by a score of 15-13.
OVERTON, OVER AND OVER AGAINÂ Â Â
Sophomore middle blocker Kirsten Overton has consistently put up impressive numbers in attack percentage this season. Her current percentage of .445 ranks first in the American and 14th among all players in NCAA Division I.
Overton's performances have earned her a number of honors, including Syracuse Invitational Tournament MVP, Big 5 All-Tournament Team recognition, and American Weekly Honor Roll mention after week one.
At the LIU Blackbird Invitational on Sept. 12, Overton hit .700 with 15 kills on 20 attempts and just one error. That percentage ranks as the top performance in the conference so far this season.Â
GRATTAN STEPPING UPÂ Â Â
Sophomore Caroline Grattan came into the year as the leader among returning players for kills from 2013, and she has only put up even stronger numbers so far.Â
She knocked down a career-high 30 kills in Temple's five-set win vs. Princeton at the Temple Invitational, which is the third-most kills by any player in The American in a single match so far this season. She currently ranks second in the league with 3.81 kills per set.
HONORS & AWARDSÂ Â Â
American Weekly Honor Roll
Sept. 1 - Kirsten Overton
Sept. 8 - Alyssa Drachslin
Sept. 22 - Sandra Sydlik
Under Armour OwlSports.com Athlete of the Week
Sept. 8 - Alyssa Drachslin
Sept. 22 - Sandra Sydlik
Syracuse Invitational All-Tournament Team
Kirsten Overton, MVP
Caroline Grattan
Temple Invitational All-Tournament Team
Alyssa Drachslin, MVP
Jennifer Iacobini
Dara Peric
Big 5 Tournament All-Tournament Team
Sandra Sydlik, MVP
Kirsten Overton
Players Mentioned
DS/L
/ Women's Volleyball
OH/RS
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's VolleyballAmerican Conference Tipoff - ESPN+
Tuesday, October 14
Ep. 12: Homecoming Recap; Women's Soccer's Tamsin Bynoe
Tuesday, October 14
Ep. 11: American Conference Commissioner Tim Pernetti
Monday, October 13
Ep. 10: Temple Homecoming Preview; Volleyball Assistant Coach Taylor Davenport
Tuesday, October 07
