Temple University Athletics
Saturday, November 16
Philadelphia, Pa.
1:00 PM
Temple University
3
vs
2
USF
Volleyball Wins Senior Day Thriller Over USF
11.16.19 | Women's Volleyball
PHILADELPHIA -- McGonigle Hall saw some "Senior Day" magic on Saturday afternoon, as the Temple volleyball team rallied from an 0-2 deficit to top visiting USF in the season finale for both teams. Led by a career-best 21 kills from senior Dana Westfield, the Owls grabbed the win with set scores of 18-25, 23-25, 25-22, 26-24, 15-11, to close the 2019 campaign 12-15 (3-13 AAC). USF ends the season 7-23, 1-15 in conference play.Â
Keys to the Match
> After a slow start that saw the Owls fall behind two sets to none, Temple rebounded in a big way.Â
> Temple hit just .164 in the first two sets, but combined for a .320 attack in the final three, including holding USF to .165 in that same span.
> Facing a 3-0 sweep, Temple extended the match with a 25-22 win in the third frame.
> The Owls led early in the fourth frame and held off a late charge from USF to tie the match at 2-2 with a win in extra points, 26-24.
> In the deciding fifth frame, Temple held USF to a .000 attack, winning set 15-11 to take the match, 3-2.
> For the match, Temple out-hit USF .244 to .223, while holding a 16-10 advantage in blocks.
Quotable: Head Coach Bakeer Ganesharatnam
> "This win was really important, especially because, despite the results the last three weeks, we've really improved. The team has really taken a step forward."
> "One thing that I saw this year, that despite the lack of positive results, the practice quality was really good, and I felt that we were improving on a consistent basis. So for them to put all of this work in, and to get this result is tremendous. I'm happy for them. I think it's really important for us to set the tone for the spring."
> "It was perfect timing for Dana to have her best performance of the season. -- we certainly needed it. She really helped us today and I was very happy for her on a personal note. Playing your last match in McGonigle Hall is tough and I'm happy for her that she was able to go out like this."
Individual Highlights
> Westfield's 21 kills topped her previous best of 19 in 2017 as a sophomore against Houston.
> Miray Bolukbasi wrapped up her fantastic weekend with another 20-kill performance, as she tallied 21 kills with 15 digs and four blocks. The sophomore notched her first double-double of the season and the second of her career.
> Junior Selina Merfol tallied her first Temple double-double, dishing out 48 assists and added 10 digs with three blocks.
> Sophomore Peyton Boyd finished with 13 kills, adding seven digs and five blocks.
> Junior Baleigh Jean-Philippe had six kills with a career-best 10 blocks.
> Junior Averi Salvador finished with a match-high 24 digs, while sophomore Gem Grimshaw added 10.
Set One: USF 25, Temple 18
> USF led early in the first set, going up 8-4 and later extending it to 15-10.
> Back-to-back blocks from Merfol and Spells cut into the USF advantage, closing it to 18-16, as the Owls went on a 6-1 run.
> USF responded quickly however, closing the frame with a 7-2 surge to win it 25-18.
Set Two: USF 25, Temple 23
> Another hot USF start saw the Bulls with the early lead that held.
> Just like the first set, Temple trailed 15-10 before using a significant run to close the gap.
> Temple rallied all the way back to a 22-22 tie, but USF got three of the final four points for a 25-23 win and 2-0 match lead.
Set Three: Temple 25, USF 22
> The pivotal third set featured eight ties and five lead changes before Temple finally broke through.Â
> USF led 10-7 early, before Temple used a 6-1 run to go up 13-11.
> The Owls extended the lead to six, at 19-13, before a 5-1 USF run made it 23-20.
> Temple held on, though, as Boyd collected the final Owls' kill to win it 25-22.
Set Four:Â Temple 26, USF 24
> Temple started the fourth with a 4-1 edge, but USF tied things quickly after.
> The Owls surged ahead again, pushing the lead to 15-10 on a Bolukbasi kill.
> USF rallied to tie it at 17-17, before taking a slim 20-19 lead.
> The set was tied four more times until a USF attack error and a huge solo block from Jean-Philippe gave Temple the 26-24 win.
Set Five: Temple 15, USF 11
> Though USF scored the first two points of the fifth set, Temple quickly took over.
> A 5-2 Owls advantage was pushed to 7-3, before USF scored three straight to close it to 7-6.
> Temple used a 4-0 surge to go up 11-6, but USF had one more rally that closed it to 13-11.
> The Owls then took home the win with a Westfield-Xeryah Salanoa block and a USF error.
Â
Â
Keys to the Match
> After a slow start that saw the Owls fall behind two sets to none, Temple rebounded in a big way.Â
> Temple hit just .164 in the first two sets, but combined for a .320 attack in the final three, including holding USF to .165 in that same span.
> Facing a 3-0 sweep, Temple extended the match with a 25-22 win in the third frame.
> The Owls led early in the fourth frame and held off a late charge from USF to tie the match at 2-2 with a win in extra points, 26-24.
> In the deciding fifth frame, Temple held USF to a .000 attack, winning set 15-11 to take the match, 3-2.
> For the match, Temple out-hit USF .244 to .223, while holding a 16-10 advantage in blocks.
Quotable: Head Coach Bakeer Ganesharatnam
> "This win was really important, especially because, despite the results the last three weeks, we've really improved. The team has really taken a step forward."
> "One thing that I saw this year, that despite the lack of positive results, the practice quality was really good, and I felt that we were improving on a consistent basis. So for them to put all of this work in, and to get this result is tremendous. I'm happy for them. I think it's really important for us to set the tone for the spring."
> "It was perfect timing for Dana to have her best performance of the season. -- we certainly needed it. She really helped us today and I was very happy for her on a personal note. Playing your last match in McGonigle Hall is tough and I'm happy for her that she was able to go out like this."
Individual Highlights
> Westfield's 21 kills topped her previous best of 19 in 2017 as a sophomore against Houston.
> Miray Bolukbasi wrapped up her fantastic weekend with another 20-kill performance, as she tallied 21 kills with 15 digs and four blocks. The sophomore notched her first double-double of the season and the second of her career.
> Junior Selina Merfol tallied her first Temple double-double, dishing out 48 assists and added 10 digs with three blocks.
> Sophomore Peyton Boyd finished with 13 kills, adding seven digs and five blocks.
> Junior Baleigh Jean-Philippe had six kills with a career-best 10 blocks.
> Junior Averi Salvador finished with a match-high 24 digs, while sophomore Gem Grimshaw added 10.
Set One: USF 25, Temple 18
> USF led early in the first set, going up 8-4 and later extending it to 15-10.
> Back-to-back blocks from Merfol and Spells cut into the USF advantage, closing it to 18-16, as the Owls went on a 6-1 run.
> USF responded quickly however, closing the frame with a 7-2 surge to win it 25-18.
Set Two: USF 25, Temple 23
> Another hot USF start saw the Bulls with the early lead that held.
> Just like the first set, Temple trailed 15-10 before using a significant run to close the gap.
> Temple rallied all the way back to a 22-22 tie, but USF got three of the final four points for a 25-23 win and 2-0 match lead.
Set Three: Temple 25, USF 22
> The pivotal third set featured eight ties and five lead changes before Temple finally broke through.Â
> USF led 10-7 early, before Temple used a 6-1 run to go up 13-11.
> The Owls extended the lead to six, at 19-13, before a 5-1 USF run made it 23-20.
> Temple held on, though, as Boyd collected the final Owls' kill to win it 25-22.
Set Four:Â Temple 26, USF 24
> Temple started the fourth with a 4-1 edge, but USF tied things quickly after.
> The Owls surged ahead again, pushing the lead to 15-10 on a Bolukbasi kill.
> USF rallied to tie it at 17-17, before taking a slim 20-19 lead.
> The set was tied four more times until a USF attack error and a huge solo block from Jean-Philippe gave Temple the 26-24 win.
Set Five: Temple 15, USF 11
> Though USF scored the first two points of the fifth set, Temple quickly took over.
> A 5-2 Owls advantage was pushed to 7-3, before USF scored three straight to close it to 7-6.
> Temple used a 4-0 surge to go up 11-6, but USF had one more rally that closed it to 13-11.
> The Owls then took home the win with a Westfield-Xeryah Salanoa block and a USF error.
Â
Â
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
RS
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
MH
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
MB/RS
/ Women's Volleyball
DS/L
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's VolleyballEp. 10: Temple Homecoming Preview; Volleyball Assistant Coach Taylor Davenport
Tuesday, October 07
Ep. 9: Head Women's Soccer Coach Chris Shaw
Friday, October 03
Ep. 8: Temple Athletics Weekly Recap; Women's Cross Country Runner Amelia Sabatino
Tuesday, September 30
Ep. 7: Temple Field Hockey Alumna Cherifa Howarth
Friday, September 26
