Temple University Athletics
Temple University
15-6, 8-3American
UConn
13-9, 4-7American
Season-Best Attack Leads Volleyball to Sweep over UConn
10.26.16 | Women's Volleyball
PHILADELPHIA — The Temple volleyball team hit a season-best .346 in a 3-0 sweep (25-18, 25-22, 25-19) over visiting UConn on Wednesday night. The win improves Temple to 8-3 in conference play, 15-6 overall, while the Huskies fall to 4-7 in the American, 13-9 overall.
Six Temple players hit over .300 as Temple hit .385 or better as a team in two of three sets. The Owls held the Huskies to a .168 attack, out-blocking UConn, 7-1, and out-digging the Huskies, 41-32.
Junior Irem Asci racked up match-best totals of 16 kills and 14 digs for a double-double. Classmate Izzy Rapacz added nine kills, while senior Tyler Davis had six. Senior Kirsten Overton notched four kills without an error, also piling on five blocks, while sophomore Iva Deak had three kills on four attempts for a .750 attack. Junior Kyra Coundourides ran the offense to the tune of 39 assists, also adding seven digs, three kills, and two aces. Sophomore Mia Heirakuji shored up the Owls' defense with 12 digs.
UConn led 7-5 in the first set before a pair of Overton/Rapacz blocks sparked a 5-0 Temple run that gave the Owls a 12-7 advantage. Later in the set, UConn cut the Temple lead to 14-13 but an Asci kill stopped the Huskies' point streak. From there, Temple used a 7-2 run to go up 22-16, before closing out the set on a solo block from junior Janine Simmons.
Temple started fast in the second set, going up 7-4 before UConn tied things up at 8-8. The Owls held UConn run at bay, going up 14-10 on an Overton kill before the Huskies again battled back to tie, this time at 16-16. Temple responded with a 5-2 run to go up 21-18 and held off a late UConn charge, winning the set 25-22 on a Rapacz kill.
UConn led as late as 15-13 in the third set, but Temple kept the match close, knotting things up at 15-15. From there, the frame was tied four more times until Temple used a 7-0 run to wrap up the set and the match. Overton, Rapacz, and Asci all tallied kills in the final surge, and the Owls sealed the sweep on an ace from Coundourides.
Temple is back in action on Friday at 7:00 p.m. hosting Memphis in a "Hawaiian Night" themed match. Coaches and managers will be wearing Hawaiian shirts, and island-themed giveaways will be on tap, including Temple and American Athletic Conference travel coolers.
Box Score (PDF) | Video Highlights
