Volleyball Heads South for Key Conference Matches

Friday, November 18

Orlando, Fla.

7:00 p.m.

Temple University

UCF

Photo by: Betsy Manning/Temple University

Volleyball Heads South for Key Conference Matches

11.16.16 | Women's Volleyball

PHILADELPHIA -- The Temple volleyball team will head south to Florida to take on a pair of conference rivals in a key American Athletic Conference series this weekend. The Owls will play on Friday at UCF (7:00 p.m./American Digital Network) and Sunday at USF (1:00 p.m.).

FOLLOW

at UCF - Watch (ADN) | Live Stats
at USF - Watch | Live Stats

AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE PLAY
   Temple split its home weekend series, falling in five sets to Cincinnati and sweeping East Carolina. The result puts Temple in third place in the conference standings, one game behind Cincinnati and two behind SMU. Right now, Temple owns the tie breaker against Cincinnati, and has a head-to-head win over SMU. The Owls will play SMU in the final week of the season.

OWLS' ADN DEBUT
   Temple will make its' American Digital Network debut on Friday at UCF. The match is the first of two Owls' matches on the 18-game fall schedule. The Owls will also appear on ADN at home on November 23 against SMU. ADN is covering a total of three volleyball matches this fall.

LAST TIME OUT: TEMPLE 3, EAST CAROLINA 0 (AMERICAN)
Backed by a .419 team attack, Temple swept East Carolina, 3-0, on Sunday afternoon at McGonigle Hall. All of Temple's hitters hit .286 or higher, as Temple combined for its second-best hitting performance of the season.
   Junior Irem Asci hit .552 in the match, recording 19 kills and just three errors, while adding nine digs. Classmate Izzy Rapacz tallied 11 kills, hitting .450, while adding eight digs. Senior Caroline Grattan had seven kills and a pair of blocks, while senior Kirsten Overton had six kills, without an error (hitting .375), with a match-best four blocks. Sophomore Iva Deak tallied four kills and three blocks, while junior Kyra Coundourides dished out 43 assists, adding seven digs.

LAST TIME OUT: CINCINNATI 3, TEMPLE 2 (AMERICAN)
In a battle of 11-3 teams, it was Cincinnati that ended up on top, as the Bearcats recorded a 3-2 win over Temple on Friday night. Temple was out-hit by Cincinnati, .252 to .211, but the Owls out-dug the Bearcats, 71-59. After Temple won the first set, Cincinnati went up 2-1 with back-to-back wins in sets two and three. The Owls forced a fifth set with a lopsided victory in the fourth frame, but Cincinnati was nearly flawless on offense in the final frame, hitting .625 (10-0-16) to seal the 3-2 victory.
   Three Temple players recorded double-doubles, juniors Irem Asci, Izzy Rapacz, and Kyra Coundourides. Rapacz finished with 18 kills and 18 digs, also adding three blocks, while Asci had 18 kills and 11 digs with two aces. Coundourides ran the offense with 52 assists, also tallying 11 digs.

RAPACZ NAMED TO HONOR ROLL
Izzy Rapacz was named to the American Athletic Conference Weekly Honor Roll for the period ending November 13, 2016. The junior averaged 14.5 kills and 13.5 digs per match in a 1-1 week for the Owls.
   Rapacz hit .393 (29-7-56), averaging 3.62 kills and 3.25 digs per set. Against Cincinnati, she tallied 18 kills and 18 digs, as the Owls lost a heartbreaker, 3-2. On Sunday, Rapacz racked up 11 kills in just three sets, hitting .450 as Temple swept ECU. For the week, she also recorded four blocks.

SCOUTING THE OWLS
Junior Irem Asci leads the Temple offense, racking up 4.46 kills per set, ranking her second in the conference and 17th in the nation. Junior Izzy Rapacz (2.90 kills/set) and senior Tyler Davis (2.07 kills/set) attack from the outside for Temple, while senior Kirsten Overton (1.65 kill/set), sophomore Iva Deak (1.57 kills/set) shore up the middle. Overton's .363 attack is first in the conference and 43rd in the nation. Junior Kyra Coundourides is Temple's top setter, averaging 10.77 assists per set, putting her second in The American and 40th in the nation.
Defensively, Temple is led by sophomore Mia Heirakuji, who averages 3.44 digs per set. Asci (2.92 digs/set), Rapacz (2.62 digs/set), and Coundourides (2.32 digs/set) beef up the back row for the Owls. At the net, Temple is led by Overton's 98 blocks, while Rapacz has 91 and Deak has 78.
As a team, Temple hits .247 and holds opponents to a .193 attack. The Owls rank first in the American in team hitting and total aces (156), second in blocks per set (2.21), and third in assists per set (12.82), kills per set (13.57).

SCOUTING UCF
   UCF enters this weekend with a 21-8 overall record, including an 11-5 mark in conference play. The Knights are coming off a split, getting swept by SMU and sweeping Tulsa, both on the road.
   Jale Hervey leads the UCF offense with 4.45 kills per set, attacking at a .261 clip. Kia Bright (2.76 kills/set), Alli Sabol (2.78 kills/set) and Taylor Gallart (2.07 kills/set) also aid the Knights' attack. UCF splits setting duties between Miranda Watkins (6.05 assists/set) and Farah Rajaee (5.69 assists/set).
   Defensively, Jordan Pingel leads the back-row with 4.72 digs per set, while Bright adds 3.10. Jeanne Westney tops the team with 108 total blocks, including 23 solo, while Taylor Wickey has added 85 blocks.
   As a team, UCF hits .240, holding opponents to a .192 attack.

OWLS VS. THE KNIGHTS
   Temple and UCF have split the all-time meetings, 5-5. UCF won the last meeting, but the Owls have won three out of the last four match-ups.

SCOUTING USF
USF is 16-12 overall, 7-9 in the conference, but have lost five-straight matches.
   The Bulls hit .234 as a team, led by Dakota Hampton's 2.89 kills per set. Three other USF players average over 2.00 kills per set in T'ara Austin (2.59), Denise Belcher (2.51), and Clara Payne (2.13). Joli Holland leads the team with a .321 attack, adding 1.98 kills per set.
   Alexa Mendoza averages 10.7 assists per set to run the offense, also adding 2.80 digs per set, which ranks third on the team. Amy Van Sant leads the Bulls with 4.14 digs per set, while Panick adds 3.31 digs per set. At the net, Payne tops the team with 110 total blocks, including 10 solo, while Panick adds 76 total stuffs.
   USF holds its opponents to a .189 attack, while also out-blocking opponents.

OWLS VS. THE BULLS
   Temple is 4-11 all-time against USF, but the Owls have won four out of the last five in the series. Earlier this year, USF swept Temple.

Game Notes (PDF)