Volleyball Drops Close Match at Tulsa

Friday, October 26

Tulsa, Okla.

8:00 PM

Temple University

5-17, 2-8

Tulsa

15-7, 7-3

Temple

Tulsa

Volleyball Drops Close Match at Tulsa

10.26.18 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

PHILADELPHIA -- The Temple volleyball team lost a close three-set match on Friday night at Tulsa. The Golden Hurricane upended Temple, 25-19, 25-21, 26-24, to move to 15-7 overall, 7-3 in the conference. The Owls meanwhile, fall to 5-17, 2-7.

Keys to the Match
> Temple played well, but Tulsa's size at the net kept the Owls offense in check.
> The Golden Hurricane finished with a .266 to .165 edge on the attack, while also edging Temple in digs 67-57.
> Temple stayed tight with Tulsa through three frames, and even took a late lead in the third, but Tulsa finished out the sweep.

Quotable: Head Coach Bakeer Ganesharatnam
> "I thought we did some really good things overall. There were some mistakes at crucial point that hindered us from closing the gap, but there were some good moments, and we did a lot of good things."
> "Tulsa is very solid, they have good size at the net, with a good block and solid pin hitters. They were able to run the middles, and they did a good job with that and they were effective."
> "Tomorrow, we're going to give this lineup more reps to get used to it more. We're going to try to simulate some of the pressure situations so we execute better at those points."

Individual Highlights
> Underclassmen shined for the Owls, led by freshmen Peyton Boyd and Tyler Lindgren.
> Boyd led Temple with 14 kills, hitting .500, while Lindgren dished out 24 assists with six digs.
> Junior Dana Westfield also had a solid night, with 13 kills, just one error, hitting .333.
> Sophomore Baleigh Jean-Philippe led Temple with three blocks, while senior Hannah Vandegrift had 10 assists.
> Senior Mia Heirakuji led Temple with 18 digs, while sophomores Katerina Papazoglou and Averi Salvador combined for 15.

Set One: Tulsa 25, Temple 19
> There were six ties and three lead changes in a tight first set that Tulsa pulled away from late.
> Tulsa came out of the gates swinging, using a match-best .444 attack to take over the lead midway through action.
> The Golden Hurricane opened a nine point lead that Temple got down to six at 16-10.
> Trailing 19-11 Temple used a solid run to cut it to 23-18, but Tulsa finished out the win, 25-19.

Set Two: Tulsa 25, Temple 21
> Tulsa had the edge much of the second frame, but the Owls kept it close.
> Tied 5-5, Tulsa pushed ahead 15-11 and led by six late.
> Temple rallied to cut it to 22-20 on a Jean-Philippe solo block, but Tulsa answered with a 3-1 run to win it.

Set Three: Tulsa 26, Temple 24
> The final frame featured seven ties and four lead changes, but in the end, Tulsa came out with the win.
> Tulsa had the early edge, but Temple used a 7-3 run to tie it at 11-11.
> Again the Golden Hurricane pushed ahead 20-16, but the Owls responded with an 8-1 run to go up 22-21.
> Tulsa tied it at 22-22 and it was tied twice more before the hosts got the final two points to win it 26-24.

Up Next:
> Temple heads to Wichita State on Sunday, taking on the defending American Athletic Conference Champions at 2:00 p.m. EST.