Volleyball Hosts White Out Against UCF on Friday; Plays USF on Sunday

PHILADELPHIA -- The Temple volleyball team hosts a pair of American Athletic Conference matches this weekend, starting with a "White Out" game against UCF on Friday at 6:00 p.m. The Owls will also host USF on Sunday, playing at 1:00 p.m.

WHITE-OUT McGONIGLE
When the Owls take on UCF on Friday, fans are encouraged to wear white to "white out" McGonigle Hall. Free t-shirts will also be available to the first 200 fans, first come, first served.

STUDENT FOOTBALL TICKETS AVAILABLE
Student tickets to the Memphis football game will be available for pick-up at Friday's match. Students can get one ticket with their ID, while supplies last.

LAST TIME OUT: TEMPLE
Temple earned a 3-0 sweep on the road at Houston in American Athletic Conference action on Sunday. The Owls won it using set scores of 25-20, 25-17, and 25-16. Temple hit .289 as a team, holding Houston to just a .129 attack.
   Junior Tyler Davis and sophomore Irem Asci each tallied 10 kills, with Davis hitting .364, and Asci adding 13 digs for her second-straight double-double. Temple's middles combined for 12 kills and a .480 hitting percentage, as junior Kirsten Overton had seven kills without a miscue, and freshman Carla Guennewig added five kills. Guennewig had a solid day in her first career start, tying sophomore Izzy Rapacz for the team lead in blocks with four.
   Senior Alyssa Drachslin had 11 digs, while classmate Kayla Yingling added eight in the win. Senior Sandra Sydlik ran the offense, tallying 36 assists in the match, while also recording six digs.

ASSIST MACHINE
Senior Sandra Sydlik earned the 3,000th assist of her career in the match against Tulane. She became just the sixth player in Temple history to accomplish that feat.

CONFERENCE LEADERS
Temple hits a conference-best .260, while also ranking first with 14.17 kills per set. The Owls are also second in The American in assists per set (13.11).
   Individually, Overton is second in The American in hitting percentage (.413), while Asci is fifth in the conference in kills per set (3.61). Sydlik is second in the conference in assists per set (11.03), while Alyssa Drachslin ranked sixth in the conference in digs, averaging 4.83 per set.

NATIONALLY-RANKED
Temple appears in the top-35 in three national stat categories this week. The Owls rank 25th in Division I in kill per set (14.17) and are 30th in hitting percentage (.260). The Owls also rank 35th in assists per set (13.15).
   Individually, Overton ranks 14th in the nation in hitting percentage (.413), while Sydlik ranks 31st nationally in assists per set (11.03).

OWL LEADERS
Asci's 3.61 kills per set lead Temple, while junior Tyler Davis (2.90) and sophomore Izzy Rapacz (2.53) also bolster the Owl attack. Junior Kirsten Overton leads the team in hitting percentage, attacking at a .413 clip, while also averaging 2.41 kills per set. Senior Sandra Sydlik has dished out 11.03 assists per set.
   Defensively, senior Alyssa Drachslin has racked up 454 total digs, averaging 4.83 per set. Overton leads the Owl blockers, with 88 total, while sophomore Janine Simmons has 82 and Rapacz has 75.
   At the line, Sydlik leads the Owls with 27 aces, while sophomore Deric Peric has 24. Asci has also served well, racking up 16 aces.

SCOUTING UCF
UCF is 14-12 on the season, including an 8-6 mark in The American. The Knights are the defending American Athletic Conference Champions and earned a bid to the 2014 NCAA Tournament after their third-straight 20-win season last year.
   Kia Bright leads the UCF attack, racking up 4.15 kills per set. Abbie Fleener (2.41 k/s) and Maddie Haggerty (2.01 k/s) also contribute to the Knights' offense. Taylor Wickey is the most accurate Knight, hitting .412 on the season, while also leading the UCF block with 86 total.
   Defensively, Jordan Pingel has averaged 5.01 digs per set to lead the Knights, while Bright has contributed 3.04 per frame.

SCOUTING USF
USF is 9-17 overall, 6-8 in The American. The Bulls have won two of their last three matches, recording wins over ECU and Houston.
   Individually, Dakota Hampton leads USF with 3.06 kills per set, while Denishe Belcher has added 2.11 per set. Joli Holland hits a team-high .336 from the middle, while Molly Burkhardt is the top setter, dishing out 5.88 assists per set.
   Wylie Devlin heads the Bulls' defense, averaging 4.54 digs per frame. Hampton also contributes on defense with 3.07 digs per set. At the net, Holland has a team-best 80 total blocks, followed by Clara Payne, who has 67.

OWLS AGAINST THE FIELD
Temple is 3-10 all-time against USF, winning three in a row against the Bulls. UCF and Temple have tied the all-time series, 4-4. The Owls and the Knights split the season series last year, with each team winning their home contest.

NEXT UP
Temple has three games in a five-day span, playing UConn, Tulsa, and SMU at home next week.

Live Stats | Live Video (vs. UCF) | Live Video (vs. USF) | Match Notes (PDF)

Volleyball Hosts White Out Against UCF on Friday; Plays USF on Sunday

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Players Mentioned

Irem Asci

Tyler Davis

Alyssa Drachslin

Carla Guennewig

Kirsten Overton

Izabella Rapacz

Janine Simmons

Sandra Sydlik

Kayla Yingling

Temple University Athletics