Volleyball Falls in 3-2 Heartbreaker at UConn

Wednesday, October 14

Storrs, Conn.

5:00 p.m.

Temple University

14-5, 5-2

UConn

8-10, 2-5

Temple University

UConn

Photo by: Joseph V. Labolito/Temple University

Volleyball Falls in 3-2 Heartbreaker at UConn

10.14.15 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

STORRS, Conn. – The Temple volleyball team lost a heartbreaker, falling in five sets on the road at UConn in a mid-week American Athletic Conference match. UConn (8-10, 2-5) grabbed the 3-2 win, using set scores of 23-25, 25-18, 24-26, 25-15, 17-15. Temple sees its record move to 14-5 overall, 5-2 in conference play.

Temple hadn't seen a fifth set since the September 12 match in which the Owls topped Duquesne, 3-2, including a 15-1 score in the final frame. The Owls have now gone five sets in their last two meetings with the Huskies. UConn, meanwhile, has reached fifth sets in three of its seven conference matches this season.

Head coach Bakeer Ganesharatnam praised his team's resiliency during the tight loss. "UConn is a very competitive team that has a lot of close losses, so their record is very deceiving. The match was the anticipated close battle and we came out just short. As a team, they fought really hard and I can't say enough about the passion and the heart they showed tonight."

Temple was paced by 12 kills each from juniors Caroline Grattan and Tyler Davis, while sophomore Izzy Rapacz added 10 kills and four blocks. In the middle, junior Kirsten Overton had eight kills and four blocks, hitting .412, while sophomore Janine Simmons recorded six kills and six blocks. Freshman Hannah Vandegrift dished out 45 assists, taking over for an injured Sandra Sydlik, who tallied five assists before exited the match in the first set.

Defensively, the Owls had three players reach double-figures in digs, led by a match-high 21 from senior Alyssa Drachslin. Senior Kayla Yingling recorded 14, while sophomore Dara Peric added 11. Sophomore Irem Asci rounded out the Temple box score with eight digs and five kills.

The first set featured 12 ties and three lead changes, but it was Temple that surged down the stretch. The Owls broke open a 5-5 tie with a 4-0 run, taking an early 9-5 lead. UConn battled back to tie it at 13-13, and the set was knotted up as late as 22-22. Down the stretch, Temple used a Yingling ace and an Overton kill to take two of the final three points for a 25-23 victory.

UConn used an 8-2 run early in the second set to open an 11-5 lead. The Huskies' advantage ballooned to as many as seven, until a 4-0 Temple run cut the lead to 17-20, as Overton and Rapacz each notched kills. UConn kept the momentum, however, closing out the set on a 5-1 run, to win it 25-18 and tie the match at 1-1.

Temple had the early advantage in set three, jumping out to a 9-6 lead. The Owls maintained their margin until Rapacz sparked the Owls with two kills and a block assist as Temple went up 17-13. UConn then tied the match at 17-17 with three-straight kills, and took a 18-17 lead on a Temple miscue. The hosts increased their lead to 21-18 before Temple battled back with kills from Overton and Davis and two big blocks to tie it at 22-22. Temple had match-point spoiled after a Davis kill, but battled back to go up 25-24, before Grattan's deep push to the left corner of the court fell in for a 26-24 Temple win.

UConn went on a 5-2 run to open set four, before Temple matched it with its own 5-2 spurt, tying the score at 7-7. Each team surged out to slight leads with Temple taking a 14-12 advantage on a Simmons kill. From that point on, it was all UConn, however, as the Huskies used a 10-0 run to open up a 22-14 lead. Temple temporarily halted the surge with a Peric kill off the block, but UConn closed it out with two kills and a Temple error, tying the match at 2-2 with a 25-15 win.

Temple was the first to eight in the fifth and deciding set, taking the slim lead on an Overton kill. UConn tied the match at 11-11 and then took a 12-11 lead on an ace. Temple battled back with a Davis kill and a block from Simmons and Rapacz to make it 13-12 Temple, but UConn again tied things up, taking the next point. Temple went up 14-13 on a Rapacz kill and appeared to have the set and the match won on the next point, but the call went against the Owls, and UConn quickly tied things at 15-15. The Owl attack on the next point went long, and Temple was called for being in the net on its next swing, giving the match to UConn, 17-15, and 3-2.

Temple is back in action on Sunday, hosting East Carolina at 1:00 p.m. Sunday's match-up is a Dig Pink game for the Owls, benefitting the Side-Out Foundation's breast cancer support and research. Fans are encouraged to wear pink to the match, and enjoy free pizza beforehand. Donations can be made online at: https://www.side-out.org/cb/campaigns/campaign/10939

Box Score (PDF)