Volleyball Falls in Heartbreaker at USF

Sunday, October 14

Tampa, Fla.

12:00 PM

Temple University

4-15, 1-6

USF

14-6, 3-4

TEM

USF

Photo by: Nguyen Ho

Volleyball Falls in Heartbreaker at USF

10.14.18 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

TAMPA, Fla. — The Temple volleyball team lost a heartbreaker, 3-2, to USF on the road on Sunday afternoon. The Owls won the first two sets 25-19, before USF closed out the win, 25-23, 25-23, 15-19. The Bulls improved to 14-6 with the win, 2-4 in conference play, while Temple falls to 4-15, 1-6 in conference play.

Keys to the Match
> Temple hit over .300 in the first two sets, taking a 2-0 lead in the match.
> USF battled back with a tight 25-23 win in the third, and matched it with a 25-23 fourth set win, despite the Owls hitting .306.
> In the deciding frame, Temple's offense stalled, hitting -.037 as the Bulls completed the comeback on their home court.
> As a whole, Temple ended the match with a slight hitting advantage (.235-.232), but USF had the edges in blocks (13-12) and digs (87-83), making runs when needed in the five-setter.

Individual Highlights
> Graduate student Irem Asci was all over the court, recording a double-double with team-best totals of 22 kills and 21 digs.
> Sophomore Katerina Papazoglou also had a double-double with 15 kills and 12 digs.
> Junior Dana Westfield tallied 11 kills, hitting .400, while graduate student Iva Deak had eight kills and six blocks.
> Senior Hannah Vandegrift had 27 assists, while rookie counterpart Tyler Lindgren had a double-double with 24 digs and 13 assists.
> Defensively senior Mia Heirakuji finished with 20 digs, sophomore Averi Salvador added 13, and sophomore Baleigh Jean-Philippe tied for team-high honors with six blocks.

Match Notes
> Temple falls to 1-4 in five set matches this season, with a win at Houston, their only victory.
> The Owls have now had 22 sets decided by two points, the closest score possible. Temple is 7-15 in those sets.

Set One: Temple 25, USF 19
> Temple hit .359 in the first set with five blocks.
> The Owls open with a 5-2 run, which increased to 12-5 later in the frame.
> USF cut it to 15-13 and later tied it at 17-17.
> Temple closed it out with an 8-2 run to go up, 1-0.

Set Two: Temple 25, USF 19
> USF had an early advantage in the second, but Temple used a 6-2 surge to to at 9-9 and take an 11-9 lead.
> The Owls powered ahead, using hot hitting at the pins, to open up a 17-11 advantage.
> With Temple leading 21-14, USF made a small run to close it to 23-19, but the Owls got kills from Asci and Papazoglou to take a 2-0 lead in the match.

Set Three: USF 25, Temple 23
> In the early action of the third, neither team grabbed momentum with the score settling at 14-14.
> USF took over with a 5-1 run to go up 20-15.
> Temple stayed in it, cutting the USF lead down to 23-22 late in the set.
> The Bulls, however, were able to finish it out to cut Temple's lead to 2-1.

Set Four: USF 25, Temple 23
> Another tight set saw both teams hit well in the third.
> Both teams had two point leads early, but the match stayed close, tied 16-16 after the first 32 points.
> USF made a late run, but it was tied three more times before it settled on 23-23.
> Again, the Bulls were able to finish things off, winning the final two points to send it to a fifth.

Set Five: USF 15, Temple 9
> Temple had a fantastic start in the fifth set, going up 4-0.
> USF quickly tied things up, and then took over. Altogether, the Bulls' run was 11-2, putting the hosts in the drivers seat.
> Temple managed to cut it to 12-9, but USF finished out the comeback.

Up Next
> Temple has a home series next weekend, welcoming Memphis on Friday, and Tulane on Sunday for Homecoming Weekend.
> The Owls will recognize alums on Sunday, including a special welcome to the 1998 Atlantic 10 Championship team celebrating its 20-year anniversary.