Temple University Athletics
Friday, September 21
Houston, Texas
8:00 PM
Temple University
4-9, 1-0
3
at
2
Houston
13-3, 0-1
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2
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5
F
Temple
25
19
19
28
15
3
Houston
20
25
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26
13
2
Photo by: Nguyen Ho
Volleyball Completes Thrilling Comeback at Houston
9.21.18 | Women's Volleyball
HOUSTON — A stunning comeback from the Temple volleyball team saw the Owls upend 13-2 Houston on the road to open the 2018 American Athletic Conference season. With Temple trailing 2-1 in the match, and facing a significant deficit in the fourth set, the Owls battled back to win it, 25-20, 19-25, 19-25, 28-26, 15-13, for the team's third victory in a row.
Quotable: Head Coach: Bakeer Ganesharatnam
> "This is a huge win for us, it was really important for our morale, especially the way we did it. Obviously I told the team that I'd prefer a 3-0 win any day, but the fact that we didn't give up, especially in the fourth, was huge."
> "I'm so proud of the team, this was a really important match for us. I'm really proud of how they fought. The support from the team from the bench was great, everyone was working together."
> "I thought Houston played some incredible defense, especially in the second and third, they did a great job on the block and they were getting balls back. We were doing some good things, but Houston was just countering what we did with better plays to win the point. I knew we just needed to calm down and we'd get our chance."
> "It's frustrating when you're down seven points, but I think the pressure was on Houston to close it out. So we emphasized that we needed to keep working, taking things one point at a time, and with every point we scored, it would put more pressure on [Houston.]"
Keys to the Match
> Both teams played an even match that could have gone either way. Attacks were nearly identical with Houston at .135 and Temple at .134.
> Defensively, Houston out-blocked Temple 15-10, but digs were again nearly even, 92 for Houston and 91 for Temple.
> Temple won a tight first set, but Houston answered back with 25-19 wins in both the second and third set.
> With the Cougars up 21-14 in the fourth, and seemingly on their way to win the match, Temple's comeback began.
> Temple closed the fourth set on a 12-5 run to tie the match at 2-2, and then closed the fifth and deciding set on a 12-7 run to win the match.
Milestone for Mia
> Senior Mia Heirakuji racked up 18 digs in the match, including the 1,000th of her career.
Individual Highlights
> Senior Irem Asci led three Owls' with double-doubles, recording team-highs of 14 kills and 22 digs, both also season-bests.
> Sophomore Katerina Papazoglou notched 11 kills with 14 assists, while freshman Tyler Lindgren also doubled-up, recording 30 assists and 15 digs.
> Senior middles Iva Deak and Carla Guennewig each tallied six kills and five blocks.
> Freshman Gem Grimshaw and junior Dana Westfield both added six kills in the win.
> Elsewhere, senior Hannah Vandegrift dished out 17 assists and sophomore Averi Salvador had nine digs.
Set One: Temple 25, Houston 20
> The Owls held the Cougars to a .023 attack in a first set win.
> Temple broke an 11-11 tie with four-straight points to grab the momentum.
> From there, the Owls did not trail, increasing the advantage to 23-17.
> Houston rallied to cut it to 24-20, but Temple got a Guennewig kill to seal the set.
Set Two: Houston 25, Temple 19
> This time it was Temple with the low hitting numbers, as the Owls were held to a .077 attack in the second.
> Still, the set was tight throughout, and midway through action it was knotted at 15-15.
> Houston scored three unanswered to go up 18-15, and though Temple cut it to one at 18-17, the Cougars closed out the win.
Set Three: Houston 25, Temple 19
> A .000 attack hampered Temple in the third, as Houston pulled ahead, 2-1.
> Neither team led by more than two early on, with a 13-13 tie.
> The Cougars inched ahead but Temple kept the lead under three, until a late surge.
> Houston closed out the frame on a 5-2 run to win 25-19.
Set Four: Temple 28, Houston 26
> Houston had control of the fourth set, turning a 6-6 tie into a 14-7 lead, using an 8-1 run.
> The Cougars pressed on, going up 21-14 before Temple began its comeback.
> First it was a 5-0 run for the Owls to make it 21-19, then the teams traded sideouts until Houston was just two points away at 23-20.
> Temple responded with a 4-0 surge that actually gave the Owls set point, before Houston was able to spoil it.
> Houston inched ahead, going up 26-25, before a service error on set and match point gave Temple new life.
> From there, Deak had a solo block to make it 27-26, and she combined with Asci for the set winner, sending it to a fifth.
Set Five: Temple 15, Houston 13
> A 3-1 start for Temple in the fifth was erased by a 5-0 Houston run that put the Cougars up 6-3.
> Temple battled back to just a one-point deficit at 8-7, before a 5-0 run put Temple up 12-8.
> Houston got within one point at 13-12 and 14-13, but Papazoglou struck for the set and match winner.
Up Next:
> The Owls stay on the road to play at SMU on Sunday.
> The 1:00 p.m. EST match-up will be broadcast live by the American Digital Network.
Quotable: Head Coach: Bakeer Ganesharatnam
> "This is a huge win for us, it was really important for our morale, especially the way we did it. Obviously I told the team that I'd prefer a 3-0 win any day, but the fact that we didn't give up, especially in the fourth, was huge."
> "I'm so proud of the team, this was a really important match for us. I'm really proud of how they fought. The support from the team from the bench was great, everyone was working together."
> "I thought Houston played some incredible defense, especially in the second and third, they did a great job on the block and they were getting balls back. We were doing some good things, but Houston was just countering what we did with better plays to win the point. I knew we just needed to calm down and we'd get our chance."
> "It's frustrating when you're down seven points, but I think the pressure was on Houston to close it out. So we emphasized that we needed to keep working, taking things one point at a time, and with every point we scored, it would put more pressure on [Houston.]"
Keys to the Match
> Both teams played an even match that could have gone either way. Attacks were nearly identical with Houston at .135 and Temple at .134.
> Defensively, Houston out-blocked Temple 15-10, but digs were again nearly even, 92 for Houston and 91 for Temple.
> Temple won a tight first set, but Houston answered back with 25-19 wins in both the second and third set.
> With the Cougars up 21-14 in the fourth, and seemingly on their way to win the match, Temple's comeback began.
> Temple closed the fourth set on a 12-5 run to tie the match at 2-2, and then closed the fifth and deciding set on a 12-7 run to win the match.
Milestone for Mia
> Senior Mia Heirakuji racked up 18 digs in the match, including the 1,000th of her career.
Individual Highlights
> Senior Irem Asci led three Owls' with double-doubles, recording team-highs of 14 kills and 22 digs, both also season-bests.
> Sophomore Katerina Papazoglou notched 11 kills with 14 assists, while freshman Tyler Lindgren also doubled-up, recording 30 assists and 15 digs.
> Senior middles Iva Deak and Carla Guennewig each tallied six kills and five blocks.
> Freshman Gem Grimshaw and junior Dana Westfield both added six kills in the win.
> Elsewhere, senior Hannah Vandegrift dished out 17 assists and sophomore Averi Salvador had nine digs.
Set One: Temple 25, Houston 20
> The Owls held the Cougars to a .023 attack in a first set win.
> Temple broke an 11-11 tie with four-straight points to grab the momentum.
> From there, the Owls did not trail, increasing the advantage to 23-17.
> Houston rallied to cut it to 24-20, but Temple got a Guennewig kill to seal the set.
Set Two: Houston 25, Temple 19
> This time it was Temple with the low hitting numbers, as the Owls were held to a .077 attack in the second.
> Still, the set was tight throughout, and midway through action it was knotted at 15-15.
> Houston scored three unanswered to go up 18-15, and though Temple cut it to one at 18-17, the Cougars closed out the win.
Set Three: Houston 25, Temple 19
> A .000 attack hampered Temple in the third, as Houston pulled ahead, 2-1.
> Neither team led by more than two early on, with a 13-13 tie.
> The Cougars inched ahead but Temple kept the lead under three, until a late surge.
> Houston closed out the frame on a 5-2 run to win 25-19.
Set Four: Temple 28, Houston 26
> Houston had control of the fourth set, turning a 6-6 tie into a 14-7 lead, using an 8-1 run.
> The Cougars pressed on, going up 21-14 before Temple began its comeback.
> First it was a 5-0 run for the Owls to make it 21-19, then the teams traded sideouts until Houston was just two points away at 23-20.
> Temple responded with a 4-0 surge that actually gave the Owls set point, before Houston was able to spoil it.
> Houston inched ahead, going up 26-25, before a service error on set and match point gave Temple new life.
> From there, Deak had a solo block to make it 27-26, and she combined with Asci for the set winner, sending it to a fifth.
Set Five: Temple 15, Houston 13
> A 3-1 start for Temple in the fifth was erased by a 5-0 Houston run that put the Cougars up 6-3.
> Temple battled back to just a one-point deficit at 8-7, before a 5-0 run put Temple up 12-8.
> Houston got within one point at 13-12 and 14-13, but Papazoglou struck for the set and match winner.
Up Next:
> The Owls stay on the road to play at SMU on Sunday.
> The 1:00 p.m. EST match-up will be broadcast live by the American Digital Network.
Team Stats
TEM
HOU
Kills
53
61
Errors
28
34
Attempts
186
200
Hitting %
.134
.135
Points
66.0
84.0
Assists
51
55
Aces
3
8
Blocks
10.0
15.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
DS/L
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
DS/L
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
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