Volleyball Opens Conference Play this Weekend at USF and UCF

Friday, September 27

Tampa, Fla.

7:00 PM

Temple University

USF

Photo by: Zamani Feelings

Volleyball Opens Conference Play this Weekend at USF and UCF

9.25.19 | Women's Volleyball

Live Stats (vs. USF)Live Stats (vs. UCF)Watch Live (vs. UCF)Match Notes (PDF)

PHILADELPHIA -- The Temple volleyball team opens conference play on the road this weekend, traveling to USF on Friday and UCF on Saturday.

OWL ABOUT TEMPLE
> Temple enters league play with a 9-2 overall record. The Owls started the season 9-0, but fell to Villanova (3-1) and Princeton (3-0) last weekend at the Big 5 Challenge.
> Temple is led offensively by sophomore Gem Grimshaw's 3.50 kills per set, while junior Katerina Papazogou adds 2.71 kills per frame.
> Sophomore Tyler Lindgren is the primary setter, dishing out 9.42 assists/set.
> At the net, freshman Kayla Spells leads Temple with 1.11 blocks per set, while sophomore Peyton Boyd adds 0.77 per frame.
> Defensively, junior Averi Salvador tops the Owls with 4.83 digs per set.
> Temple's offense ranks fourth in the conference at .241, while the Owls are holding opponents to a .160 attack, third in the league.
> Individually, Salvador ranks fourth in the conference in digs per set, Lindgren is fourth in assists per set, Spells ranks ninth in blocks per set, and Grimshaw is 10th in kills per set.

SCOUTING USF
> USF carries a 6-8 overall mark into the start of the league schedule, but the Bulls have won two in a row.
> The Bulls are coming off a pair of 3-0 sweeps, topping Stetson at home to close the USF Invitational on Saturday and Bethune-Cookman on the road on Tuesday.
> USF has three strong outside hitters leading their offense -- Lindsey Pliapol (3.20 kills/set), Jac'cara Walker (3.17 kills/set), and Jac St. Cin (2.54 kills/set).
> The Bulls' offense is distributed by Lauren Labeck who averages 7.44 assists per frame, while Rafaela Biegelmeyer adds 4.90 assists per frame.
> Defensively, Ally Barnhart leads the team with 1.12 blocks per set, while CC Clausen tops the Bulls with 4.18 digs per frame.
> As a team, USF hits .211, while opponents are hitting .219 against them.

TEMPLE VS. USF
> The Owls are 7-13 all-time against the Bulls. USF won both meetings last year, but Temple had won seven of eight meetings before that.

SCOUTING UCF
> UCF enters conference play with a 7-5 overall record. The Knights have played a tough schedule, including a narrow 3-2 loss to #7 Marquette and a convincing 3-1 win over #14 Illinois.
> UCF is led by sophomore All-American, McKenna Melville, who averages 4.06 assists per set, adding 2.83 digs per frame to her all around game.
> The Knights add two other strong pin hitters in Kristina Fisher (2.85 kills/set) and Anne-Marie Watson (2.69 kills/set).
> Sister setters Erin and Amber Olson run the offense, with Erin averaging 5.44 assists per set and Amber adding 5.10 per frame.
> UCF has a strong blocking corps, with three players averaging over 1.0 blocks per set -- Nerissa Morabvac (1.50), Watson (1.29), and Kathryn Wesolich (1.02).
> As a team, the Knights hit .243, holding opponents to a .210 attack.

TEMPLE VS. UCF
> Temple is 7-8 all-time against UCF, with the Knights winning three in a row.

CONFERENCE CLASHES
> The Owls are 74-42 all-time in the American Athletic Conference since joining the league for the 2013 season.
> Temple is 3-3 all-time in American Conference openers.

STREAK SNAPPED
> Temple started the season by winning nine straight matches, the best start in recorded program history, topping a 7-0 start in 1983.
> During that streak, the Owls went 27-2 in sets, recording 3-0 sweeps in eight of their first nine matches.

NEW LOOK AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
> 2019 rings in a new era in American Athletic Conference volleyball, as the conference will hold a championship tournament for the first time in its seven-year history.
> The 2019 Championship will be held Nov. 22-24 at The Venue at UCF, as the Knights claimed last year's league title.
> Also new is a division format, with six teams making up the East and the remaining six the West.
> The championship will feature six teams, including the top two teams from each division. The final two spots in the field will fall to the next best two teams, determined by tie-breaking procedures.
> The top two seeds - the divisional winners - will receive first-round byes.