Volleyball Wins Temple Invitational; Owls Stay Undefeated at 6-0

Saturday, September 6

McGonigle Hall

1:00 PM

Temple University

5-0

Princeton

1-2

Princeton

Temple

2014 Temple Invitational Champions

Volleyball Wins Temple Invitational; Owls Stay Undefeated at 6-0

9.6.14 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

Box Score vs. Princeton (PDF) l Box Score vs. Holy Cross (PDF)

PHILADELPHIA - It was another tournament and another title for Temple volleyball as the Owls remained undefeated at 6-0 and captured the team title at their own Temple Invitational on Saturday. After a 3-1 win vs. runner-up Charlotte on Friday, the Owls outlasted Princeton 3-2 in their first match on Saturday and then swept Holy Cross, 3-0.

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.

For Drachslin, it was an honor to be recognized but she also is proud of how well the team is playing as a whole.

"It means a lot (to win MVP)," she said, "especially for how well I know everyone else played, but obviously my success on the floor this weekend would not have been possible without my teammates. We had a really solid blocking effort, especially today. Using that makes my job easier. It means a lot for this team to be coming together in all aspects...I think we have learned that we can rely on each other no matter what."

In their second match of the day against Holy Cross, Temple rolled to a three-set victory by scores of 25-14, 25-17 and 25-13.

Temple's first match of the day against Princeton was a true five-set thriller. After dropping the first set 25-19, the Owls came back to win the next two by scores of 25-23 and 25-16. The fourth set went to an extra point but was won by the Tigers, 26-24. The Owls fell behind 7-3 in the fifth set before tying the score at 8-8 and going on to win, 16-14.

While a 6-0 start and two early season tournament titles are a great accomplishment for a team, Temple head coach Bakeer Ganes says the Owls will take it and move on.

"It's definitely a great start to the season, but that's it," said Ganes. "It's just a great start...As a program, as a team, we understand how to deal with that. It's definitely good for the overall confidence level, but we also understand that there are a lot of things we need to work on. We're going to focus on those things and break them down and analyze them, and throughout practices over the next couple of weeks we'll work on those things."

Alex Schmitt was the match leader in efficiency against Holy Cross, knocking down eight kills on 12 attempts with no errors for a percentage of .667, and also leading all players with six blocks. Peric led all players with 13 kills, and Halle McCullough was impressive with 11 kills and a hitting percentage of .588. Sandra Sydlik put up a double-double of 29 assists and 10 digs.

The first set was tight early on against Holy Cross, but once the Owls pulled away, they cruised to a 25-14 win. Temple turned an 8-7 lead into a 20-9 lead with a 12-2 run. The Owls hit even more efficiently as a team in the second set with 12 kills and just three errors for a percentage of .391. Sydlik did well to distribute the ball evenly, and five different players recorded either two or three kills for Temple.

Holy Cross held off a couple of set points against the Owls in that second set, but Temple was still able to record a decisive, 25-17 win.

Peric was strong in the third set to record seven of her match-best 13 kills while leading Temple to a 25-13 win. The third set was the Owls' best of match with 16 kills and only two errors for a hitting percentage of .424.

Caroline Grattan put down a career and match-high 30 digs against Princeton, making it a double-double by adding 10 digs. Tiffany Connatser also notched a double-double with an impressive 56 assists to go with 14 digs.

Temple was just four digs shy of 100 as a team, led by Drachslin who tied her career high with 28 digs. Tyler Davis tallied a career-best 18 digs and Peric added 12 digs to nine kills. Kristen Overton hit .462 with 14 kills and also led the Owls with four blocks. Iacobini hit .417 with 12 kills.

Temple committed a few too many errors in the first set, while Princeton hit .343 as a team thanks to All-Tournament Team selection Kendall Peterkin's seven kills with no errors.

Grattan knocked down seven kills on 12 attempts with zero errors in the second set, while Overton recorded five kills on seven attempts and also committed no errors. The duo helped the Owls recover from their first-set loss and hold off Princeton for a 25-23 win.

Temple was outstanding as a team in the third set, recording 19 kills and zero errors en route to out-hitting Princeton .475 to .244. After a 14-14 tie, the Owls closed out the set on an 11-2 run with five kills from Grattan and three from Overton.

The fourth set saw 12 ties and three lead changes. Temple held off one Princeton set-point but could not stave off the next one as the Tigers tied up the match at two sets apiece.

After the Owls recovered from their early struggles in the fifth set, the score was tied five times down the stretch. Princeton had match point at 14-13, but Davis came up with the equalizer. Grattan's 30th kill of the match gave Temple its own match point at 15-14, and, fittingly, Grattan combined with Overton for a block to end the match in the Owls' favor.

For Princeton, Peterkin finished with a double-double of 24 kills and 22 digs while Cara Mattaliano also notched a double-double with 15 kills and 18 digs, as did setter Lauren Miller with 10 digs to go with 59 assists.

Temple will be on the road next weekend at the LIU Brooklyn Invitational, facing Boston College on Friday, followed by Northern Kentucky and LIU Brooklyn on Saturday.

2014 Temple Invitational All-Tournament Team
Mary Mullen, Holy Cross
Kendall Peterkin, Princeton
Sarah Adams, Charlotte
Britney Held, Charlotte
Dara Peric, Temple
Jennifer Iacobini, Temple
Alyssa Drachslin, Temple (MVP)