Volleyball Drops Tight Match to #24 Wichita State

Friday, September 22

McGonigle Hall

7:00 PM

Temple University

4-5, 0-1American

#24 Wichita State

9-3, 1-0American

Wichita State

Temple

Photo by: Nguyen Ho

Volleyball Drops Tight Match to #24 Wichita State

9.22.17 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

PHILADELPHIA -- The Temple volleyball team battled hard with #24 Wichita State, but ultimately came up short in a tight 3-1 match. The Shockers pulled out the victory 29-27, 19-25, 31-29, and 25-15 to move to 9-3 overall, while Temple dips to 4-5. The match, the first ever meeting between the programs, was the conference opener for both teams, and the first ever American Athletic Conference game for the Shockers in any sport.

KEYS TO THE MATCH
> Temple held advantages in points (79-75), kills (71-61), and digs (61-54), but Wichita State's attack was more accurate, out-hitting the Owls, .327 to .253.
> Temple senior Izzy Rapacz had a career-best 21 kills, but Wichita State had their own ace, as Mikaela Raudsepp finished with 23 winners.
> The first and third sets were decided by just two points, with both going beyond 25, but the Shockers won both sets to take control.
> Wichita State survived Temple rallying from eight points down in a crucial third set, and took the frame 31-29.
> Overall, the four set match featured 30 ties and 13 lead changes.

INDIVIDUAL HIGHLIGHTS
> Rapacz recorded the first 20+ kill match of her career, adding three blocks.
> Senior Irem Asci tallied a double-double with 14 kills and 13 digs, also notching three aces.
> Senior Dara Peric had the 12th double-double of her career, but the first since 2014, finishing with 12 kills and 10 digs.
> Junior Iva Deak recorded 12 kills.
> Senior Janine Simmons had nine kills with a team-best four blocks.
> Senior Kyra Coundourides notched a game-best 59 assists to go along with eight digs.
> Junior Mia Heirakuji led the Owls with a season-high 21 digs.
> Freshman Averi Salvador chipped in with five digs.

SET 1: Wichita State 29-27
> After trailing by three most of the first frame, the Owls tied things up at 15-15 on a Katerina Papazoglou ace.
> Both teams had rallies late, but WSU creeped out to a 23-21 advantage.
> From there, Temple rallied to tie, and nine set points were spoiled between the teams.
> The Shockers were able to get the final two to the floor, combining a kill and a Temple attack error to win 29-27.

SET 2: Temple 25-19
> Temple opened the action with a 4-1 advantage and did not trail in the set.
> WSU rallied to close the gap to 14-13, but Temple used an 8-3 surge to go up 22-16.
> The Owls then got the final three points on a pair of Asci kills and one from Rapacz to tie the match at 1-1.

SET 3: Wichita State 31-29
> Wichita State had control early in the frame, going up 11-3 after the first 14 points.
> Temple rallied for 14 of the next 20 points to tie the frame at 17-17.
> After falling behind 19-18, the Owls took their first lead of the set on three straight kills to go up 20-19.
> Temple appeared to be headed for set point, up 24-22, but a call went against the Owls, tying the match at 23-23.
> From there, the lead changed hands four more times before Wichita State put together two in a row to take it, 31-29.

SET 4: Wichita State 25-15
> Temple held a slim 4-3 lead early, but the Shockers rebounded to go up 12-10.
> Wichita State scored the next six points to go up 18-10.
> Temple was never able to cut the deficit to less than six the rest of the way.

UP NEXT
> Temple continues its conference opening weekend with a match against Memphis on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.
> The team will sign autographs following the match.

Box Score (PDF)