Tight Match Goes Against Volleyball; Owls Fall to Tulsa

Friday, October 25

Philadelphia, Pa.

7:00 PM

Temple University

10-10, 1-8AAC

Tulsa

13-9, 6-3AAC

TULSA

Temple

Photo by: Zamani Feelings

Tight Match Goes Against Volleyball; Owls Fall to Tulsa

10.25.19 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

PHILADELPHIA -- In a match that featured 47 ties and 23 lead changes, the Temple volleyball team came out on the wrong end, falling in three close sets to visiting Tulsa, 3-0. The Hurricane won with set scores of 29-27, 26-24, and 27-25, to move to 13-9 overall and 6-3 in conference play. The Owls dip to 10-10, 1-8 in the American.

Keys to the Match
> All three sets were tied as late as 24-24, but Tulsa got hot when it counted to earn the hard-fought sweep.
> Temple used a late surge in the first set to lead 24-23, but Tulsa fought off set point and won the marathon frame, 29-27.
> Both teams struggled offensively in the second set, as the teams combined to hit just .037. Tulsa again got hot late, however, winning another set in extra points, 26-24.
> Temple seemed to be in the driver's seat in the third set, but another late Tulsa run doomed the Owls, as the Hurricane won it 27-25.
> For the match, Tulsa hit .194 to Temple's .158, while the Hurricane out-blocked Temple, 10-4.
> Temple's defense played well in the loss, as the Owls out-dug Tulsa, 60-55.

Quotable: Head Coach Bakeer Ganesharatnam
> "We showed a lot of fight. In these close sets, it can come down to one point and we just couldn't finish out the end of sets."
> "I think our defense played really well, and we limited the runs for Tulsa, something we didn't do last weekend. But we had too many unforced errors, especially late in the sets."

Individual Highlights
> Sophomore Peyton Boyd tied for the team lead with 12 kills, adding 10 digs to complete her first career double-double.
> Junior Selina Merfol dished out a Temple career-high 37 assists, combining that with 10 digs for her first double-double of the season.
> Junior Averi Salvador racked up a match-high 23 digs to lead all players.
> Sophomore Miray Bolukbasi finished with 12 kills and seven digs.
> Elsewhere, freshmen Kayla Spells and Naomi Janetzke, junior Baleigh Jean-Philippe, and senior Dana Westfield all had four kills each.

Set One: Tulsa 29, Temple 27
> An all out battle from the gates was the story in set one, as the teams tied 17 ties with eight lead changes.
> Tulsa took the largest lead of the frame at 14-12, before Temple battled back to go up 21-18.
> Tulsa cut the lead to 23-22, and then continued its run to spoil Temple's set point.
> Six more ties ensued, before Tulsa finally won it, 29-27.

Set Two: Tulsa 26, Temple 24
> Another tight set saw 14 ties and six lead changes, but again, Tulsa got hot at the right time to earn the win.
> Temple led as late as 17-16 before Tulsa used a 4-0 run to go up, 20-17.
> The Owls responded with a run of their own, tying the frame at 21-21.
> Three more ties ensued, but Tulsa finished it out, 26-24.

Set Three: Tulsa 27, Temple 25
> With Tulsa up 14-13, the Owls scored used a 6-1 run to take a 19-15 lead.
> Tulsa quickly answered, using their own surge to take a 21-20 lead.
> Like the two previous sets, Temple tied it as late as 25-25, but Tulsa got the final two they needed to earn the set and match wins.

Up Next:
> Temple is back in action on Sunday, hosting Wichita State at 1:00 p.m. The match will be a breast cancer fundraiser and all fans are encouraged to wear pink.