Volleyball Finishes as Big 5 Runner-Up; Owls Fall to Villanova

Saturday, September 19

McGonigle Hall

7:00 p.m.

Temple University

9-3

Villanova

9-3

Villanova

Temple University

Kirsten Overton led all Big 5 players in hitting percentage (.581) and total blocks (18)

Photo by: Joseph V. Labolito/Temple University

Volleyball Finishes as Big 5 Runner-Up; Owls Fall to Villanova

9.19.15 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA – The Temple volleyball team dropped a tight 3-1 contest to Villanova in the championship match of the 2015 Big 5 Tournament at McGonigle Hall. Temple took the first set, 25-20, before falling 25-23, 25-23, and 25-21, in the final three. The Owls move to 9-3 on the season, while Villanova also sports a 9-3 overall mark.

"Looking at the scores and the stats, the two teams were pretty evenly matched," said head coach Bakeer Ganesharatnam. "A point here and a point there, and it could have easily gone the other way. We lost to a very good Villanova team, but we were in every set, from start to finish."

In a tightly contested match that saw each set decided by five or less points, Villanova finished with a .210 attack, while Temple was right there, at .209. The Owls out-dug the Wildcats, 66-59, but Villanova held a slight edge in team blocks, 11.5-10.0.

Temple sophomore Irem Asci racked up a season-high 21 kills, also adding eight digs. Junior Kirsten Overton finished the night with 12 kills, five blocks, and a match-high .476 hitting percentage. Overton led the entire Big 5 Tournament in hitting and blocking, compiling a .581 attack and 18 blocks on the weekend. Both Asci and Overton represented Temple on the Big 5 All-Tournament team.

Owl sophomores Izzy Rapacz and Janine Simmons each tallied seven kills, while combining for nine blocks. Rounding out the Temple offense, junior Tyler Davis had six kills, while senior Sandra Sydlik recorded 47 assists with eight digs and four blocks. Senior Kayla Yingling had a match-best 16 digs, while classmate Alyssa Drachslin had 14 and sophomore Dara Peric added 12.

Temple took control late in the first set, breaking open a one-point match with a 4-0 run to make it 22-17 Owls. After trading sideouts, Temple made the final run, as the Owls won it on an Asci kill that set the score to 25-20.

Set two was another back-and-forth affair, with neither team grabbing momentum until a 5-1 Temple run made it 14-10. Villanova answered back with some huge blocks, tying the set at 16-16 on a Temple error. Both teams surged to slim leads before a Peric kill tied the set again, this time at 23-23. After two long rallies, it was Villanova's Claire Crutchfield who tallied the final two points of the set, giving the Wildcats the 25-23 win.

Villanova had the momentum coming out of intermission, leading set three early on. The Wildcats held a two-point advantage before a 4-0 run gave them a 19-13 lead. Temple called timeout to re-group and came out swinging after the break, battling back to make it a one-point set at 24-23 on a kill from Sydlik. Temple's run came too late, however, as Villanova grabbed the next point to take another set, 25-23, and go up 2-1 in the match.

It was all Villanova in the early part of set four, as the Wildcats jumped out to a 10-2 lead. Temple stormed back with a 14-2 run, backed by strong serving from Peric and freshman Mia Heirakuji, that made it 16-12 Owls, forcing Villanova to burn both of their timeouts. Temple led as late as 19-17, but Villanova re-gained the lead with a 5-1 run to make it 22-20. Temple had an Overton kill down the stretch, but the Wildcats closed out the set with a 25-21 win, taking the match, 3-1.

"Overall this was a good weekend for us," noted Ganesharatnam. "We've improved in every match, we've improved even since yesterday. This weekend will help us as we move on to conference play."

Temple is back in action next weekend, heading to Florida for a pair of American Athletic Conference matches. The Owls will play on Friday at USF and then Sunday at UCF.

Box Score (PDF) | Big 5 Tournament Statistics (PDF)

2015 Philadelphia Big 5 Tournament
Champion: Villanova, 3-0
Runner-Up: Temple, 2-1
3rd: Penn, 1-2
4th: La Salle, 0-3

MVP: Emma Pettit, Villanova

All-Tournament:
Mackenzie Northup, Villanova
Irem Asci, Temple
Kirsten Overton, Temple
Ronnie Bither, Penn
Ashley Felton, La Salle