Volleyball Rallies to Top Memphis, 3-2

Sunday, October 2

Memphis, Tenn.

1:00 p.m.

Temple University

10-4,3-1

Memphis

8-8,0-4

Temple

Memphis

Volleyball Rallies to Top Memphis, 3-2

10.2.16 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Facing an 0-2 deficit, the Temple volleyball team rallied for a 3-2 victory on the road at Memphis on Sunday afternoon. The Owls dropped the first two sets, 22-25, 21-25, before winning the final three, 25-17, 25-19, 15-9 for their third-straight victory, the second of which has come in five sets. Temple now stands at 10-4 overall, 3-1 in The American, while Memphis evens its record at 8-8, going 0-4 in conference play.

"Memphis played pretty well in the first two sets, but it was stuff that we weren't doing that allowed them to play that way," said head coach Bakeer Ganesharatnam. "I thought the timing was off on our block and we needed to get into a rhythm on offense, we needed to play our speed."

After combining to hit just .145 between the first two sets, Temple's offense came alive, hitting a combined .469 in sets three, four, and five to finish out the comeback. The Owls ended with a .260 attack, holding Memphis to .189, including just .089 in the final three frames.

"We made some line-up changes after the first two sets, but it was a total team effort through and through," explained Ganesharatnam. "We could have easily folded in this one, it took a lot of heart and determination to win today."

Temple's Irem Asci had another top individual performance, as the outside hitter racked up 23 kills and a career-best 22 digs. It was the third-straight 20+ kill performance for the junior. Elsewhere, senior Tyler Davis notched 11 kills, hitting .360, while junior Izzy Rapacz added eight.

Junior setter Kyra Coundourides notched a double-double, with 55 assists and 14 digs, adding a career-best seven kills. Senior Kirsten Overton had seven kills, while sophomore Iva Deak had four kills and two blocks. Defensively, junior Dara Peric notched 12 digs, playing the final three sets at libero, while Rapacz chipped in with 11 digs.

Memphis had Temple's number in the initial two sets. In the first, the Tigers hit .262 to Temple's .091, but still, the Owls kept things close. Memphis surged ahead 12-10, and led by as many as four, but the Owls closed the gap to 17-15. The Tigers put together a run that saw them go up 24-19, and although Temple spoiled three set points, Memphis closed it out, 25-22.

In set two, things stayed close, including a 6-6 tie, before Memphis scored four-straight to make it 10-6. From there, the Tigers did not trail. Temple closed the gap to two points on several occasions, including a 22-20 deficit late in the set, but Memphis held on for the 25-21 win.

Set three was all Temple, as the Owls hit a massive .556 in the frame to cruise to a 25-17 victory. Asci and Coundourides combined for eight kills in the frame, as the Owls turned a slim 13-11 advantage into a 22-15 lead. Memphis scored a pair down the stretch, but a Deak ace and kills from Asci and Overton made it 25-17 Temple.

Temple's offense came back down to earth in the fourth set, but the Owls still out-hit the Tigers, .195 to .045. Trailing 11-9, Temple turned things around with a 9-0 run, backed by multiple kills from Asci and Overton, making it 18-11 Owls. Memphis got as close as a four-point deficit, but the Owls closed things out with an Iva Deak kill that made it 25-19, forcing a fifth set.

Temple's momentum carried over into the fifth and final frame, as the Owls led from buzzer-to-buzzer, not trailing at all during the set. It started on a 4-1 surge, before Memphis cut the lead to 8-5 on a kill. Temple then score three-straight on a pair of Davis kills and a Memphis attack error to open up a 11-5 lead. The Owls kept their lead at five or more points the rest of the set, winning the frame and match on a Memphis serve error.

Temple has now won two-straight three-setters, making the Owls 2-3 in five-set matches this season.

The Owls are back in action on Friday, October 7 at 1:00 p.m. at Tulsa.

Box Score (PDF)