Temple University Athletics

Dana Westfield
Photo by: Nguyen Ho

Volleyball Hosts UCF and USF this Weekend

11.13.19 | Women's Volleyball

PHILADELPHIA -- The Temple volleyball team heads to the final weekend of the 2019 season, with match-ups at home against UCF (Thursday, 7:00 p.m.) and USF (Saturday, 1:00 p.m.).

THURSDAY PROMOTIONS
> Temple has a number of promotions for Thursday's match, including student football ticket distribution for Saturday's game against Tulane.
> Students can also enter to win a pair of wireless Beats headphones. 
> Greek Night and Cherry Crusade Night wrap up the promotions. 

SENIOR DAY SATURDAY
> Temple will honor its lone senior on Saturday, celebrating the career of Dana Westfield following the match.

OWL ABOUT TEMPLE
> Temple is 11-14 overall, including a 2-12 mark in conference play.
> Sophomore Peyton Boyd leads the Owls with 2.92 kills per set and a .311 hitting percentage, while she's also third on the team with 2.42 digs per set.
> Sophomore Gem Grimshaw tallies 2.88 kills and 2.38 digs per set, while junior Katerina Papazoglou also adds good all-around numbers with 2.49 kills and 2.88 digs per frame.
> Sophomore Miray Bolukbasi (2.37 kills/set) and senior Dana Westfield (2.02 kills/set) bolster the Owls' varied attack.
> Sophomore Tyler Lindgren has dished out 8.99 assists per set with junior Selia Merfol combining for 3.67 assists per frame.
> At the net, freshman Kayla Spells leads Temple with 0.82 blocks per set, while junior Baleigh Jean-Philippe contributes 0.81 per frame.
> Defensively, junior Averi Salvador tops the Owls with 4.67 digs per set.
> Temple's offense hits .209, while opponents hit .210 against the Owls.
> Individually, Salvador ranks third in the conference in digs per set while Lindgren is fourth in assists per set.

SCOUTING UCF
> UCF has secured a spot in the conference tournament, standing at 19-7 overall with a 12-2 mark in conference play.
> The Knights are coming off a weekend split where they topped ECU but fell to league-leading Cincinnati, both at home.
> UCF is led by sophomore All-American, McKenna Melville, who averages 4.45 assists per set, adding 2.94 digs per frame to her all around game.
> The Knights add two other strong pin hitters in Kristina Fisher (2.93 kills/set) and Anne-Marie Watson (2.64 kills/set).
> Sister setters Erin and Amber Olson run the offense, with Erin averaging 5.68 assists per set and Amber adding 5.48 per frame.
> UCF has a strong blocking corps, with three players averaging over 1.0 blocks per set -- Lache Harper (1.32), Nerissa Moravec (1.30), and Watson (1.26).
> As a team, the Knights hit .275, holding opponents to a .196 attack.

TEMPLE VS. UCF
> Temple is 7-9 all-time against UCF, with the Knights winning four in a row.

EARLIER THIS SEASON: UCF 3, Temple 0 (9/27/19)
> UCF won a 3-0 match, 25-14, 25-21, 25-22 in Orlando.
> After a slow first set for the Owls, Temple had leads in both the second and third sets, but timely runs from UCF put the match in their favor.
> UCF hit .301 for the match, holding Temple to a .116 attack, while the Knights held a 79-62 advantage in digs.
> Temple's Katerina Papazoglou and Gem Grimshaw notched eight kills each, while Papazoglou tallied 10 digs.
> Dana Westfield finished with seven kills, while Naomi Janetzke have five kills on just 12 swings.
> For the Knights, McKenna Melville was fantastic with 18 kills and 13 digs.
> Anne-Marie Watcon added 13 kills and Kristina Fisher had nine in the win.

SCOUTING USF
> USF carries a 7-21 overall record, including 1-13 in conference play. The Bulls lone conference victory came against the Owls earlier this season in Tampa, Fla.
> The Bulls are coming off losses at home to Cincinnati and ECU.
> USF has three strong outside hitters leading their offense -- Lindsey Pliapol (3.07 kills/set), Jac'cara Walker (2.70 kills/set), and Jac St. Cin (2.35 kills/set).
> The Bulls' offense is distributed by Lauren Labeck who averages 7.10 assists per frame.
> Defensively, Ally Barnhart leads the team with 0.95 blocks per set, while CC Clausen tops the Bulls with 3.88 digs per frame.
> As a team, USF hits .191, while opponents are hitting .250 against them.

TEMPLE VS. USF
> The Owls are 7-14 all-time against the Bulls. Temple had won seven of eight meetings in the series, but USF has won three straight.

EARLIER THIS SEASON: USF 3, Temple 0 (9/25/19)
> USF opened conference play with a 3-0 sweep over Temple, 25-22, 25-19, 25-18, in Tampa.
> USF was on the better end of two tight sets to start the match, using late runs in each frame to go up 2-0.
> The Bulls had a fast start to set three, opening an eight point lead, before the Owls cut it to two down the stretch.
> Temple's late rally came up short, however, as USF was able to close things out, earning the sweep.
> USF out-hit Temple .274 to .137, while digs were 43-39 in their favor.
> For Temple, Tyler Lindgren dished out 27 assists, including the 1,000th of her career, while Peyton Boyd had 12 kills, hitting .400.
> For USF, Jac'cara Walker tallied 11 kills with eight digs, while Lindsey Pliapol added nine kills.
> Nicole Legg, Ally Barnhart, and Jag St. Can also chipped in on offense with seven kills each.

CONFERENCE CLASHES
> The Owls are 76-54 all-time in the American Athletic Conference since joining the league for the 2013 season.
 
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