Volleyball Opens Cherry & White Challenge with Sweep of Montana

Friday, September 11

McGonigle Hall

6:00 p.m.

Temple University

5-2

Montana

1-7

Montana

Temple University

Photo by: Joseph V. Labolito/Temple University

Volleyball Opens Cherry & White Challenge with Sweep of Montana

9.11.15 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA — The Temple volleyball team opened the 2015 Hilton Penn's Landing Cherry & White Challenge with a 3-0 sweep over visiting Montana on Friday night. The Owls took the match, 25-15, 25-23, and 25-14, to move to 5-2 on the season, while the Grizzles dip to 1-7.

Temple worked around a slow second set by combining to hit .322 for the match. The Owls made just four combined errors in the first and third sets, and then got hot at the right time in set two, to earn the victory.

Sophomore Irem Asci led the way with 14 kills and a pair of aces, while junior Tyler Davis and sophomore Izzy Rapacz each added nine kills. Junior Kirsten Overton had an error-less night with six kills on just eight swings to hit at a .750 clip for the match.

Also for the Owls, senior Sandra Sydlik dished out 34 assists while adding seven digs and a pair of blocks. Rounding out the Temple box score, senior Alyssa Drachslin tallied a match-high 13 digs, while senior Kayla Yingling and sophomore Dara Peric each added six.

Tied at 11-11 in the first set, Temple turned things around with a 14-4 run that put the stanza away. The Owls hit .407, holding the Griz to just .059. Temple committed only three errors in the set, and just one after the initial 11-11 tie.

Set two was a different story, with Montana jumping out to an early lead. The Grizzles led 11-6 after early hitting troubles plagued the Owls. Temple cut the lead to 12-9 on a Davis kill and later tied the set at 14-14 on a kill from Rapacz. Montana surged ahead, however, holding a lead as late as 20-19. A timeout allowed the team to regroup, and Temple closed out the set on a 6-3 surge, as kills from Asci and Rapacz sealed the 25-23 win.

The Owls offense rolled in the final frame, as Temple hit .500 with 12 kills and just one error. The hosts opened on a 4-0 run and quickly built up a 12-4 lead. Montana cut the lead to 16-8 on the lone Owl attack error of the stanza, but Temple cruised down the stretch, closing out the sweep with a 25-14 set victory.

The Cherry & White Challenge continues tomorrow with four matches on the slate. Duquesne and Montana open play at 10:00 a.m., while Temple will face Duquesne at 1:00 p.m. Montana and Binghamton face off at 3:30 p.m. before Temple closes out the tournament with a 7:30 p.m. match against Binghamton.

Box Score (PDF) | Match Highlights/Interviews