TUVB Downs NAU to Open 2016 Season

Friday, August 26

McGonigle Hall

6:00 p.m.

Temple University

1-0

Northern Arizona University

0-1

NAU

Temple

Izzy Rapacz hammered 18 kills in Temple's 3-1 win over NAU

Photo by: Joseph V. Labolito/Temple University

TUVB Downs NAU to Open 2016 Season

8.26.16 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Video Highlights

PHILADELPHIA — The Temple volleyball team opened the 2016 season with a 3-1 victory over visiting Northern Arizona, in the opener of the Sonesta Philadelphia Hotel Temple Invitational. The Owls won 25-15, 18-25, 25-20, 25-20 to start the season and the tournament, 1-0. The Lumberjacks, a 2015 NCAA tournament team, starts their campaign 0-1.

Temple shook off a rough second set to hit .261 for the match, including hitting over .300 in both the first and the fourth sets. The Owls held NAU to just a .159 attack on the night, while out-digging (58-52) and out-blocking (10-7) the Lumberjacks, as well.

Individually, junior Izzy Rapacz led the Owls with 18 kills on the night, also adding six digs and five blocks. Classmate Irem Asci notched a double-double with 10 kills and a team-best 14 digs, while sophomore Iva Deak was stellar in her Temple debut with eight kills, no errors, and a team-high six blocks. Senior Kirsten Overton notched eight kills, while junior Dara Peric had seven kills and 12 digs.

Also making the most of her Temple debut, setter Kyra Coundourides notched a double-double with 48 assists and 10 digs. Sophomore Mia Heirakuji rounded out the individual highlights with a career-high 11 digs.

Set one was back-and-forth before the Owls broke it open with an extended serving run from Heirakuji. Temple led just 13-12 when back-to-back blocks from Rapacz and Deak forced an NAU timeout. After the break, the Owls extended their lead to 20-12 after yet another Rapacz and Deak block, before closing out the stanza, 25-15.

NAU answered with a win in set two, as the Lumberjacks had their best offensive performance, a .417 attack compared to .071 for the Owls. NAU took the lead at 3-2 and did not trail from that point on. Temple was able to get the lead down to 15-13, but NAU closed out set two to tie the match at 1-1.

Temple jumped out to an early 6-1 lead in the third set, backed by strong serving from Coundourides. However, NAU went on an 8-3 run to take their first advantage of the set, 9-8, after a Temple attack error. The Lumberjacks then extended their lead to 17-12, after another run, this one, 8-4. The Owls regained their footing and used a 9-1 run of their own to re-gain control of the match, holding a 21-18 advantage. After a side-out, Temple closed things out with a 4-1 run, winning set three, 25-21.

It was NAU that got off to the hot start in the fourth set, opening with a 5-2 advantage. Temple quickly responded with a block and a kill from Deak to spark the cherry and white to an 8-5 advantage. From there, Temple held the lead through the rest of the set, opening an 18-12 lead on a Peric kill. NAU made things interesting down the stretch, cutting the Owl edge to 22-20, but Temple got the final three points of the set to win it 25-20, taking the match, 3-1.

The Owls are back in action tomorrow afternoon, taking on Hampton at 6:00 p.m. NAU and Hampton will meet in an earlier match, tipping off at 11:00 a.m.

Box Score (PDF) | Video Highlights