Volleyball Opens Play in The American on Friday

PHILADELPHIA -- The Temple volleyball team opens the 2016 American Athletic Conference season this weekend, hosting a pair of matches at McGonigle Hall. The Owls will take on Tulane on Friday at 7:00 p.m. and then host Houston on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. Friday's match is Homecoming/Alumni Night, while Sunday's is Youth Volleybal Day, featuring a post-match autograph session.

FOLLOW THE ACTION
Owls TV will broadcast both matches live on Owlsports.com, while live stats are also available.

AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE OPENERS
   Entering their fourth season in the American Athletic Conference, the Owls will open conference play at home for the first time since joining the league in 2013. In season-openers, Temple is 2-1 overall in The American, and in season-opening series, the Owls are 4-2 (2-0 in 2015, 1-1 in 2014, 1-1 in 2013).
   Last season, Temple opened American Athletic Conference play on the road, sweeping both USF and UCF.

LAST TIME OUT: TEMPLE 3, PENN 0 (BIG 5)
   Temple closed out its Big 5 sweep with a 3-0 win over Penn, sealing the 2016 Championship. The Owls used set scores of 25-18, 25-16, and 25-17 to breeze by the Quakers (4-8).
   Asci topped the Owls' offense with 14 kills, hitting .417. Rapacz ended the match with nine kills, eight digs, and three blocks, while Kirsten Overton had eight kills, hitting .667 with four blocks. Davis rounded out the offense with seven kills, while Coundourides had 25 assists. Heirakuji again led the defense, tallying 15 digs.

LAST TIME OUT: TEMPLE 3, LA SALLE 1 (BIG 5)
Temple opened day two of the Big 5 tournament with a 3-1 victory over La Salle at Tom Gola Arena. The Owls rallied from a first-set loss, to win 23-25, 25-17, 25-15, 25-19.
   Three players recorded double-doubles for the Owls, juniors Irem Asci (15 kills, 11 digs), Izzy Rapacz (14 kills, 12 digs), and Kyra Coundourides (39 assists, 11 digs). From the middle, senior Kirsten Overton and sophomore Iva Deak both notched six kills, while Overton adding four blocks and Deak, three. Senior Tyler Davis had seven kills, while classmate Caroline Grattan had four in two sets of action, while sophomore Mia Heirakuji led the team with 16 digs

LAST TIME OUT: TEMPLE 3, VILLANOVA 0 (BIG 5)
Temple opened the 2016 Philadelphia Big 5 Tournament with a 3-0 sweep over defending champion, Villanova at the Palestra on Friday afternoon. The Owls grabbed the win with set scores of 25-18, 27-25, and 26-24.
   Asci led the Owls with 14 kills and 10 digs, while Overton and Davis each tallied seven kills and just one error. Overton finished with a .429 attack and added four blocks, while Davis hit .316 with two blocks. Deak had six kills without an error, hitting .545 with a team-best six blocks. Coundourides notched 37 assists and seven digs, while Heirakuji had a team-best 12 digs.

SCOUTING THE OWLS
   Asci leads the Owls' offense with 4.08 kills per set, which ranks her second in The American, while also tallying a team-best 3.25 digs per set. Rapacz is second on the Owls with 3.16 kills per set, also ranking third with 2.55 digs per set. Overton (1.94 kills/set, .379 %) and Deak (1.77 kills/set, .352%) shore up the middle attack.
   Coundourides runs the offense to the tune of 10.51 assists per set, also adding 2.37 digs per frame.
   Defensively, Heirakuji averages 2.82 digs per set, while Overton leads Temple with 44 total blocks, including six solo. Rapacz (43), and Deak (36) also top the team with blocks.
   As a team, Temple hits .241, holding opponents to a .176 attack. The Owls average 2.46 blocks per set, which leads the conference.

SCOUTING TULANE
   Tulane enters this weekend with an 8-5 overall record. The Green Wave have won two in a row, topping Abilene Christian, 3-0, and FAU, 3-2, in their last outings.
   Sarah Ray leads the Tulane attack with 3.15 kills per set, while Tea Juric (2.96 kills/set) and Hannah Shaw (2.81 kills/set), also bolster the Green Wave offense. Justine Bowers is the primary setter, averaging 8.77 assists per frame.
   Defensively, Dayna Kern has a team-best 48 total blocks, while Sarah Strasner has 28. Kaylie McHugh (3.38 digs/set) and Juric (3.08 digs/set) shore up the back row.

OWLS VS. THE GREEN WAVE
   Temple leads the all-time series with Tulane, 3-1, with the teams splitting last season. Each team won their home match in 2015, as Tulane won 3-1 in New Orleans, and Temple won 3-1 in Philadelphia.

SCOUTING HOUSTON
   The Cougars enter the weekend with a 5-6 overall record, including going 0-2 in their last action, falling to Yale and Rice at Rice's tournament.
   Three Houston players average 2.49 kills per set or better, including Sarah Afflerbaugh (3.02), Megan Duncan (2.52), and Brianna Lynch (2.49). The Cougars hit .203 as a team, with Keandra McCardell leading the team with 7.33 assists per set.
   Defensively, Katie Karbo averages 4.67 digs per set with McCardell contributing 1.86 digs per set. At the net, Chenelle Walker has racked up 31 total blocks, while Brianna Gardner has 18.

OWLS VS. COUGARS
   Temple has a slim 4-3 lead in the all-time series, with the teams splitting the two match-ups last year.
   Both teams lost on their home court, with Houston topping Temple, 3-2, in McGonigle Hall, with Temple winning at Houston in a 3-0 sweep.

PHILADELPHIA BIG 5 CHAMPIONS
   Temple won the 2016 Philadelphia Big 5 Championship for the third time in program history. The Cherry and White swept Villanova (3-0) on Friday, and then topped La Salle (3-1) and Penn (3-0) on Saturday to claim the title.

TEMPLE INVITATIONAL CHAMPIONS
   Temple won the 2016 Sonesta Hotel Temple Invitational with a pair of victories last weekend. The Owls topped Northern Arizona, a 2015 NCAA Tournament team, 3-1 on Friday, and then swept Hampton, 3-0, on Saturday.

TEMPLE PICKED TO FINISH SECOND
   Three Temple volleyball players earned American Athletic Conference pre-season honors, while the Owls were picked to finish second in a vote of the leagues' coaches. Temple's three selections -- senior Kirsten Overton, and juniors Irem Asci and Izzy Rapacz, were the most for any American squad.
   Temple earned two first-place votes in the coaches' poll, and finished in second place in the final tally with 88 points. The Owls ended last season in second place with a 15-5 conference mark and a 24-8 overall record and return three of their four All-Conference selections from 2015.

TWO TEMPLE MATCHES TO AIR ON AMERICAN DIGITAL NETWORK
   Two Temple volleyball matches will be part of the American Digital Network's 18-game fall schedule. The Owls will air live on ADN for matches against UCF (away) and SMU (home). ADN is covering a total of three volleyball matches this fall.

Match Notes (PDF) | Watch Live | Live Stats

Volleyball Opens Play in The American on Friday

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Players Mentioned

Irem Asci

Kyra Coundourides

Tyler Davis

Iva Deak

Caroline Grattan

Mia Heirakuji

Kirsten Overton

Izabella Rapacz

Temple University Athletics