Tight Match Goes Against Volleyball

Friday, September 28

McGonigle Hall

6:00 PM

Temple University

4-11, 1-2AAC

UConn

10-6, 2-1AAC

UConn

Temple

Photo by: Nguyen Ho

Tight Match Goes Against Volleyball

9.28.18 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

PHILADELPHIA — The first three sets were decided by three or less points each, but ultimately the Temple volleyball team dropped a 3-1 contest to visiting UConn in American Athletic Conference action on Friday night. The Huskies grabbed the 25-23, 25-27, 25-22, 25-16 win to move to 10-6 overall (2-1 AAC), while the Owls dipped to 4-11 (1-2 AAC) on the season.

Quotable: Head Coach Bakeer Ganesharatnam
> "We need to reduce our unforced errors overall, but especially in moments where it's important that we execute. It's something we missed against SMU as well, and it's something we need to do better."
> "We're not a program that's used to being in this situation, so sometimes you might think twice before you execute something or make a decision, and you start questioning things because we haven't been here before. So we have to go back to the basics and focus on one thing at a time to get rid of the doubts and the pressure."

Keys to the Match
> The first three sets could have gone either way, but UConn took two of the three to go up, 2-1.
> In the third and deciding frame, Temple was hampered by unforced errors, including four-straight serve errors to total five in the set.
> UConn had the edge in hitting .266 to .188, and digs, 82-71 on the night.

Individual Highlights
> Graduate student Iva Deak led the way with 14 kills and a team-best five blocks.
> Sophomore Katerina Papazoglou notched a double-double with 11 kills and 15 digs.
> Freshman Peyton Boyd tallied eight kills and junior Dana Westfield chipped in with seven to pace the offense.
> Senior Mia Heirakuji (21) and graduate student Irem Asci (20) combined for 41 digs to top the defense.
> Freshman Tyler Lindgren finished with 22 assists and five digs, while senior Hannah Vandegrift finished with 19 assists.

Set One: UConn 25, Temple 23
> Set one was as tight as possible with the Owls hitting .293 to UConn's .271.
> The Huskies maintained a slim lead until a 5-1 Temple run gave the Owls their first advantage at 18-15.
> UConn battled back to tie at 21-21, but Temple was up 23-22 late.
> The Huskies then scored the final three points of the frame to take set one, 25-23.

Set Two: Temple 27, UConn 25
> Another close as possible set was the story of the second, with the Owls having the hot hand at the end, to tie it 1-1.
> UConn led early, backed by a 4-0 midway through play.
> Temple kept it within two points after that, and slowly crept back.
> It wasn't until late in play when Papazoglou struck for three kills and Lindgren and Deak added a block to put the Owls up 22-20.
> Temple had set point up 24-21 before UConn rattled off four-straight to get set point for themselves at 25-24.
> This time, Temple played the spoiler, scoring three straight to take set two, 27-25.

Set Three: UConn 25, Temple 22
> UConn crept ahead 2-1 with another tight win, hitting a match-best .326.
> The Huskies started the set with five-straight points, but Temple battled to make it a one-point deficit.
> The Huskies kept the lead until a 6-2 run put the Owls up 15-13.
> The set was tied five more times until settling at 21-21.
> From there, UConn scored four of the final five points to win it, 25-22.

Set Four: UConn 25, Temple 16
> For the first time all match, Temple had the early edge, as the Owls went up, 6-3.
> An 8-3 run changed things for the Huskies, and ultimately pushed the momentum in their favor, as they went up, 14-10.
> Temple got the lead down to three at 15-12, but UConn rattled off a 10-3 run to close the match.

Up Next
> Temple is off until Friday, October 5, when the Owls host Cincinnati at 7:00 p.m. at McGonigle Hall.