Temple University Athletics
Saturday, January 23
McGonigle Hall
6:00 P.M.
Temple University
vs
Morgan State
Volleyball Opens 2020-21 Season on Saturday at Home
1.22.21 | Women's Volleyball
PHILADELPHIA -- After a long wait, the Temple volleyball team will open the 2020-21 season on Saturday night. The Owls will host Morgan State at 6:00 p.m. in McGonigle Hall on ESPN+.
OWL ABOUT TEMPLE
The Owls are coming off of a 12-15 season in 2019, which included a 9-0 start, the best in program history, before a mid-season skid saw the team struggle during conference play. The Cherry and White ranked fifth in the final AAC East Division standings last season, not qualifying to the first ever American Athletic Conference Tournament.
Temple returns All-Conference selection in right side Peyton Boyd, who was named to the 2021 AAC Preseason team. She led the Owls in kills during conference play last season. Overall, Temple has eight upperclassmen returning, which includes four starters from a year ago.
SCOUTING MORGAN STATE
Morgan Sate is coming off an 18-13 season in 2019 that saw the Bears advance all the way to the MEAC Championship game before falling in a 3-2 heartbreaker to Howard.Morgan State returns 12 letterwinners and four starters from last year's team with eight newcomers. The Bears were picked to finish third in the MEAC Preseason Poll.
TEMPLE VS. MORGAN STATE
Temple is 1-0 all-time against Morgan State with the teams' only meeting coming in 2011. The Owls swept the match 3-0 on a neutral court at Pitt's home tournament.
STRONG SLATE
The Owls have unveiled a 15-game regular season schedule in a season that is unconventional. Temple's slate includes 11 home contests and four road games, with eight conference matches and seven non-conference. The Owls will face off against only the AAC East Division this regular season, with the teams playing two-match series' at one location.
PRESEASON POLL
Temple was picked to finish third in the American Athletic Conference East Division after a vote of the league's coaches. UCF was picked to finish atop the East with 10 first place votes, while Cincinnati was picked to finish second, with one first place vote. East Carolina and USF ranked fourth and fifth in the rest of the divisional poll.
In the West Division, SMU was tabbed the preseason favorite with seven first place votes. Tulane and Houston followed, with each of them garnering two first place tallies. Wichita State, Tulsa, and Memphis rounded out the poll.
NEW FACE ON THE SIDELINES
The Owls will have a new member of the coaching staff on the bench on Saturday, as newly hired assistant coach, Kait Kozak, will make her first appearance in Cherry & White. Kozak comes to Temple after a three-year stint at Goucher College, where she turned a five-win team into a 14-win team in just one year. Prior to her role at Goucher, she spent five years as an assistant coach at the U.S. Naval Academy alongside head coach Larry Bock - the winningest coach in NCAA volleyball history.
TOURNAMENT THOUGHTS
2019 marked the first ever American Athletic Conference Volleyball Tournament in the league's eight year history. Prior to last year's tournament, the regular season standings determined the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. A fifth place East Division finish last season kept the Owls out of the tournament, so the team will be looking for its first ever berth to the event. The 2021 AAC Tournament is scheduled for April 2 and 3 on the campus of last season's champion, Cincinnati.
IT'S A PLUS
In the offseason, Temple and the American Athletic Conference secured a 12-year media rights extension with ESPN. Under the agreement of the extension, hundreds of additional American Athletic Conference sports events annually will be distributed on the ESPN+ digital platform. The deal means that most of the Owls' home matches will appear on ESPN+, a subscription service available nationwide.
NIKE X TEMPLE VOLLEYBALL
The Temple Athletics Department made the switch to Nike, beginning with the 2020-21 seasons. The three-year agreement makes Nike the exclusive athletic footwear, apparel and accessories provider for each of the Owls' 19 varsity sports.
OWL ABOUT TEMPLE
The Owls are coming off of a 12-15 season in 2019, which included a 9-0 start, the best in program history, before a mid-season skid saw the team struggle during conference play. The Cherry and White ranked fifth in the final AAC East Division standings last season, not qualifying to the first ever American Athletic Conference Tournament.
Temple returns All-Conference selection in right side Peyton Boyd, who was named to the 2021 AAC Preseason team. She led the Owls in kills during conference play last season. Overall, Temple has eight upperclassmen returning, which includes four starters from a year ago.
SCOUTING MORGAN STATE
Morgan Sate is coming off an 18-13 season in 2019 that saw the Bears advance all the way to the MEAC Championship game before falling in a 3-2 heartbreaker to Howard.Morgan State returns 12 letterwinners and four starters from last year's team with eight newcomers. The Bears were picked to finish third in the MEAC Preseason Poll.
TEMPLE VS. MORGAN STATE
Temple is 1-0 all-time against Morgan State with the teams' only meeting coming in 2011. The Owls swept the match 3-0 on a neutral court at Pitt's home tournament.
STRONG SLATE
The Owls have unveiled a 15-game regular season schedule in a season that is unconventional. Temple's slate includes 11 home contests and four road games, with eight conference matches and seven non-conference. The Owls will face off against only the AAC East Division this regular season, with the teams playing two-match series' at one location.
PRESEASON POLL
Temple was picked to finish third in the American Athletic Conference East Division after a vote of the league's coaches. UCF was picked to finish atop the East with 10 first place votes, while Cincinnati was picked to finish second, with one first place vote. East Carolina and USF ranked fourth and fifth in the rest of the divisional poll.
In the West Division, SMU was tabbed the preseason favorite with seven first place votes. Tulane and Houston followed, with each of them garnering two first place tallies. Wichita State, Tulsa, and Memphis rounded out the poll.
NEW FACE ON THE SIDELINES
The Owls will have a new member of the coaching staff on the bench on Saturday, as newly hired assistant coach, Kait Kozak, will make her first appearance in Cherry & White. Kozak comes to Temple after a three-year stint at Goucher College, where she turned a five-win team into a 14-win team in just one year. Prior to her role at Goucher, she spent five years as an assistant coach at the U.S. Naval Academy alongside head coach Larry Bock - the winningest coach in NCAA volleyball history.
TOURNAMENT THOUGHTS
2019 marked the first ever American Athletic Conference Volleyball Tournament in the league's eight year history. Prior to last year's tournament, the regular season standings determined the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. A fifth place East Division finish last season kept the Owls out of the tournament, so the team will be looking for its first ever berth to the event. The 2021 AAC Tournament is scheduled for April 2 and 3 on the campus of last season's champion, Cincinnati.
IT'S A PLUS
In the offseason, Temple and the American Athletic Conference secured a 12-year media rights extension with ESPN. Under the agreement of the extension, hundreds of additional American Athletic Conference sports events annually will be distributed on the ESPN+ digital platform. The deal means that most of the Owls' home matches will appear on ESPN+, a subscription service available nationwide.
NIKE X TEMPLE VOLLEYBALL
The Temple Athletics Department made the switch to Nike, beginning with the 2020-21 seasons. The three-year agreement makes Nike the exclusive athletic footwear, apparel and accessories provider for each of the Owls' 19 varsity sports.
Players Mentioned
RS
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