Volleyball Takes on Houston and Tulane at Home this Weekend

Friday, October 23

McGonigle Hall

7:00 p.m.

Temple University

Houston

Photo by: Joseph V. Labolito/Temple University

Volleyball Takes on Houston and Tulane at Home this Weekend

10.22.15 | Women's Volleyball

PHILADELPHIA -- Temple hosts a pair of matches this weekend, battling Houston on Friday at 7:00 p.m. and then taking on Tulane on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.

TEMPLE'S LAST TIME OUT
The Temple volleyball team battled back from a first-set loss to top visiting East Carolina, 3-1, last Sunday afternoon. After dropping set one, 25-18, the Owls responded with three-straight wins, 25-22, 25-12, and 25-23, to take the match.
   Sophomore Irem Asci recorded a double-double with 22 kills and 10 digs, while junior Tyler Davis racked up 16 kills, recording just one error to hit .438. Sophomore Izzy Rapacz had a 10-kill effort, with junior Kirsten Overton adding nine. Freshman Hannah Vandegrift and senior Sandra Sydlik split the setting duties, as Vandegrift notched 30 assists and Sydlik had 26, while also adding nine digs. Defensively, senior Alyssa Drachslin recorded 20 digs.

AMERICAN HONOR ROLL
Tyler Davis earned a spot on the American Weekly honor roll on Monday, marking the eighth award for Temple this year. Davis earned her first award and becomes the fifth Temple player honored by The American this season.
   Davis led the Owls' offense in a 1-1 week. The junior averaged 3.11 kills per set, leading Temple in kills in both matches. In a 3-2 loss to UConn, she hammered 12 kills, while also adding three blocks. In a 3-1 win over ECU, Davis tallied 18 kills, recording just two errors, to hit .438 in the match. Davis hit .286 for the week, accounting for 29.5 points for Temple.

CONFERENCE LEADERS
Temple hits a conference-best .269, while also ranking first iwth 14.19 kills per set. The Owls are also second in The American in assists per set (13.13).
   Individually, Overton leads The American in hitting percentage (.436) and is fourth in blocks per set (1.01). Asci is fourth in the conference in kills per set (3.87), while Sydlik is second in assists per set (11.12). Alyssa Drachslin ranked fifth in the conference in digs, averaging 4.96 per set.

OWL LEADERS
Sophomore Irem Asci leads the Owls with 3.87 kills per set, while junior Tyler Davis (2.87) and sophomore Izzy Rapacz (2.59) also bolster the Temple attack. Junior Kirsten Overton leads the team in hitting percentage, attacking at a .436 clip, while also averaging 2.41 kills per set. Senior Sandra Sydlik has dished out 11.1 assists per set, while freshman Hannah Vandegrift has averaged , dishing out 5.93 per set.
   Defensively, senior Alyssa Drachslin has racked up 347 total digs, averaging 4.95 per set. Overton leads the Owl blockers, with 72 total, while sophomore Janine Simmons has 66 and Rapacz has 60.

NATIONALLY-RANKED
Temple appears in the top-25 in two national stat categories this week. Temple is 21st in Division I in both hitting percentage (.269) and kills per set (14.19). Additionally, the Owls rank 27th with 13.13 assists per set.
   Individually, Overton ranks 4th in the nation in hitting percentage (.452), while Sydlik ranks 12th nationally in assists per set (11.52).

SCOUTING HOUSTON
Houston is 14-6 overall and 4-4 in The American. Leading the Cougars and The American with 4.35 kills per set is freshman Brookah Palmer, while junior Hunter Wise (2.31) and sophomore Sarah Afflerbaugh (2.23) also bolster the Houston attack. Sophomore Keandra McCardell runs the offense as the primary setter with 8.32 assists per frame.
   Senior Olivia O'Dell leads the squad defensively, racking up 471 total digs at an average of 6.04 per set. The three-time American Defensive Player of the Week leads all conference members in digs per set. Also for the Cougars, freshman Chanelle Walker leads the block with 79 total, while Wise (49) and senior Courtney Smith (48) are also strong at the net.

SCOUTING TULANE
Tulane is 7-13 overall and 1-7 in The American, having lost three in a row. The Green Wave is led by junior Tea Juric's 3.69 kills per set, while Sarah Ray (2.86) and Sarah Strasner (1.95) also boost the Tulane attack. The primary setter is freshman Elizabeth Hurring, dishing out 7.79 assists per set. Following Hurring is Ally Frank with an average of 7.50 assists per set.
   Leading the Green Wave defensively is Lisa Mordell with a total of 296 digs averaging 3.79 digs per set, while top attackers Juric (252) and Ray (204) are also defensive leaders for the Tulane squad. Freshman Dayna Kern tops the team in blocks with a total of 69.

OWLS AGAINST THE FIELD
Temple is 5-2 total against Houston and Tulane.
   The Owls own the all-time series with the Cougars, 3-2, including winning both matches last season. Temple is 2-0 lifetime against Tulane, with both meetings coming in last year's American schedule.

NEXT UP
Following this home series, the Owls hit the road for back-to-back weekends. Temple plays at Cincinnati and Memphis, then travels to Houston and Tulane the following weekend.

FB vs. NOTRE DAME STUDENT TICKETS
Temple students can pick up a free ticket to the Temple-Notre Dame football game at Friday's Houston match. Students must have their TUID with them to get a ticket. One ticket per Temple student will be given out on a first come first serve basis, based on availability.

MATCH TIME CHANGE
Temple's home match against UCF on Friday, November 13, has been changed to a 6:00 p.m. start.

Live Stats | Video vs. Houston | Video vs. Tulane | Match Notes (PDF)

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