Temple Volleyball Co-Hosts Big 5 Tournament this Weekend

PHILADELPHIA - The Temple volleyball team will serve as co-hosts for the 2015 Philadelphia Big 5 Tournament this weekend. The 7-2 Owls will square off against La Salle, Penn, and Villanova.

THE SCHEDULE
Temple and co-host, Penn, will split days for the tournament. Friday matches will be played at the Palestra, beginning with Temple against La Salle at 4:00 p.m. Villanova and Penn will square off in the Friday evening match, at 7:00 p.m.

On Saturday at McGonigle Hall, Temple takes on Penn at 10:00 a.m. before Villanova plays La Salle at 1:00 p.m. In the final two matches of the tournament, Penn plays La Salle at 4:00 p.m. and Temple hosts Villanova at 7:00 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT: TEMPLE
After finishing as tournament runner-up in two-straight events, the Owls captured the title at the Hilton Penn's Landing Cherry & White Challenge this past weekend. Temple went 3-0 at the event, defeating Montana and Binghamton in three sets, and also grabbing a thrilling five-set win over Duquesne, including taking the final set, 15-1, against the Dukes.

Temple hit .324 in the tournament, holding opponents to just a .136 attack. Sophomores Irem Asci (3.73) and Izzy Rapacz (3.09) topped the Owls in kills per set, while Rapacz (.409) and junior Kirsten Overton (.405) led the team in hitting percentage. Senior Sandra Sydlik dished out 123 total assists, averaging 11.18 per set, while classmate Alyssa Drachslin led the defende with 4.64 digs per set.

AMERICAN HONOR ROLL
Rapacz earned her first American Athletic Conference honor on Monday, being named to the conference's weekly honor roll. The sophomore hit .409 for the tournament, and had at least nine kills in each match. Against Montana on Friday, Rapacz notched nine kills with two blocks in a 3-0 sweep of the Grizzles. On Saturday, she opened the day with a a 13-kill performance against Duquesne, also grabbing five digs and four blocks. Closing out the tournament, Rapacz recorded 12 kills, hitting .611 with a pair of blocks, as the Owls swept Binghamton

ALL-TOURNAMENT PERFORMANCES
Following the action at the the Cherry & White Challenge, six players were announced as All-Tournament selections. Temple led the way with Rapacz being named the tournament MVP, while seniors Kayla Yingling and Sandra Sydlik earned All-Tournament honors. Rapacz and Yingling earn their first tournament honors this season, while Sydlik was previously named to the Temple Invitational All-Tournament team.

OWL LEADERS
Asci has racked up a team-leading 4.26 kills per set, while Tyler Davis (3.29) and Izzy Rapacz (2.93) also bolster the Temple attack. Overton leads the team in hitting percentage, attacking at a .395 clip. Sydlik runs the offense, dishing out 11.55 assists per set.

Defensively, Alyssa Drachslin has racked up 159 total digs, averaging 5.13 per set. Overton leads the Owl blockers, with 28 total, while Rapacz has racked up 26 and sophomore Janine Simmons has 25, including a team-leading five solo.

NATIONALLY-RANKED
Temple appears in the top-10 in three national stat categories this week. The Owls are eighth in the nation hitting percentage, and also lead The American, with a .308 clip. Temple also ranks ninth in the country in assists per set (13.68) and kills per set (14.65), also topping the conference in both categories.

Individually, Sydlik ranks ninth in the country with 11.55 assists per set. Also for Temple, Drachslin is 29th in digs per set (5.13), while Asci is 32nd in kills per set (4.26).

SCOUTING LA SALLE
La Salle is 5-7 on the season and is coming off a a 3-1 (25-17, 19-25, 25-15, 25-17) win over Fairleigh Dickinson on Wednesday. The Explorers' offense is led by Laura Kuhlmeier (2.57 k/s) and Kelly Perillo (2.35 k/s). Taylor Hite handles setting duties, dishing out 8.14 assists per set. Defensively, Ashley Felton leads the team with 38 total blocks, while Jensen Sharrits records a team-high 4.83 digs per set.

SCOUTING PENN
Penn enters the Big 5 Tournament with a 4-4 overall mark. The Quakers are coming off a 3-1 (27-25, 25-23, 18-25, 25-14) midweek loss to Delaware.Alexis Genske leads the Penn attack with 3.06 kills per set, while Alex Caldwell adds 2.15 kills per set. Ronnie Bither is the primary setter, dishing out 9.63 assists per frame. Defensively, Kendall Covington tops the team with 22 blocks, including six solo, while Michellie McDonald-O'Brien has added 18 blocks and Taylor Cooper, 17. Michelle Pereira leads the team in digs, recording 3.48 per set.

SCOUTING VILLANOVA
Villanova is 7-3 overall, coming off a 3-0 weekend to win the Villanova Classic. The Wildcats topped Siena and Howard in 3-0 wins before defeating James Madison, 3-1. Allie Loitz leads Villanova with 3.80 kills per set, while Claire Crutchfield (2.55 k/s) and Lauren Carpenter (2.54 k/s) also bolster the offense. At the net, Abby Pederson-Henry has racked up 31 total blocks, while Pethokoukis had 27. Michelle Adams leads the Wildcats in digs, averaging 4.06 per set.

OWLS AGAINST THE FIELD
Temple is 94-20 all-time against the tournament field, owning winning records against all three opponents. The Owls are 52-1 all-time against La Salle, a former Atlantic-10 foe for Temple. The cherry and white are 19-2 all-time against Penn, and have their closest series record against Villanova, but leading the all-time match-ups, 23-17.

NEXT UP
Following the Big 5 Tournament, Temple jumps into conference play. The Owls will be on the road for their first American Athletic Conference series, traveling to Florida to take on USF on September 25, before playing at UCF on September 27.

Live Stats (vs. La Salle) | Live Stats (vs. Penn/Villanova) | Live Video (vs. Penn) | Live Video (vs. Villanova) | Match Notes (PDF)

Temple Volleyball Co-Hosts Big 5 Tournament this Weekend

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Irem Asci

Tyler Davis

Alyssa Drachslin

Kirsten Overton

Izabella Rapacz

Janine Simmons

Sandra Sydlik

Kayla Yingling

Temple University Athletics