Volleyball Suffers First Loss of Season, Falls to Villanova

Thursday, September 19

Villanova, Pa.

7:00 PM

Temple University

9-1

Villanova

8-2

Temple

Villanova

Photo by: Zamani Feelings

Volleyball Suffers First Loss of Season, Falls to Villanova

9.19.19 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

VILLANOVA, Pa. — Temple's hot start to the 2019 season came to an end on the road at Villanova on Thursday night, as the Owls suffered their first loss this year, dropping a 3-1 match to the Wildcats, 25-14, 21-25, 25-15, 25-18. Temple now stands at 9-1 on the season, while Villanova improves to 8-2.

Quotable: Head Coach Bakeer Ganesharatnam
> "It was a great atmosphere to play in and that's what we want, we want to play these tough matches."
> "I think tonight, the things we do well, we just didn't execute them. Give credit to Villanova, though, they were really prepared and they played really well."
> "We will be okay. We're a very young team, and being in these matches and these situations is how we're going to get better."

Individual Highlights
> Senior Dana Westfield led Temple's offense with 12 kills and just one error, hitting .393.
> Sophomore Gem Grimshaw tallied 12 kills and eight digs, while junior Katerina Papazoglou had a double-double with 11 kills and 12 digs.
> Sophomore Tyler Lindgren dished out 32 assists, while junior Averi Salvador tallied 12 digs.
> Rounding out the box score, Junior Selina Merfol had seven digs and classmate Baleigh Jean-Philippe added five kills.

Set One: Villanova 25, Temple 14
> After a tight opener, Nova created distance with a strong serving run, rattling off five unanswered points to lead 10-5.
> Temple cut it to two points, but the Wildcats went on another surge, opening an 18-11 advantage.
> The Owls couldn't get things going down the stretch, as the hosts finished out the 25-14 frame.

Set Two: Temple 25, Villanova 21
> After the teams traded sideouts to open the action, the set was tied at 8-8.
> From there, Temple inched ahead, using a 6-2 run to lead 14-11.
> Villanova cut the lead to 16-13, but the Owls pushed it to 23-17 on a Papazoglou winner.
> The Wildcats cut the lead to 24-21, but a Grimshaw kill gave the Owls the win, tying the match at 1-1.

Set Three: Villanova 25, Temple 15
> Temple had slight leads in the early part of the third frame, but again a tight match saw things tied up at 10-10.
> Villanova used another strong serving run from their setter, pushing out to a 14-10 advantage.
> Temple closed the gap, but Villanova rolled, closing out the frame with a massive 17-5 run.

Set Four: Villanova 25, Temple 18
> After an early 3-3, Villanova used a 7-2 run to open up a 10-5 lead.
> Temple battled back with an 8-2 run to cut it to 14-13, but Villanova responded by pushing the lead back to five, 19-14.
> The Owls made some noise down the stretch, but couldn't complete another comeback.

Up Next:
> Temple has little rest, returning to the court tomorrow, again at Villanova, taking on Princeton at 7:00 p.m.