Owls to Host Memphis and SMU this Weekend in McGonigle

PHILADELPHIA - The Temple volleyball team will be in action at home in McGonigle Hall this weekend as they host the Memphis Tigers and the SMU Mustangs.

The Owls will face Memphis on Friday night, Nov. 5 at 7 p.m. ET and close out the weekend against SMU on Sunday, Nov. 7 at 1 p.m. ET. Both matches will be available on the ESPN+ app.

OWL ABOUT TEMPLE

The Owls return home for their second-to-last home weekend of the season with a pair of matches versus Memphis and SMU.
Temple heads into the weekend with a 5-18 overall record and 1-11 in AAC play.
Gem Grimshaw leads the Owls' offense on the right side with 3.32 kills per set. She is also one of the leaders defensively as she digs 2.41 balls per frame, ranking her second on the team.
Miray Bolukbasi (3.24 k/s) and Katerina Papazoglou (1.33 k/s) also provide offense from the outside.
Taylor Davenport averages 1.43 kills per set at the middle blocker position, with a team-leading 1.18 blocks per set.
Freshman Patrycja Zielinska quarterbacks the offense to the tune of 8.14 assists per frame.
Libero Falanika Danielson leads the team with 4.08 digs per set.

SCOUTING MEMPHIS

Memphis earned a come from behind victory on Wednesday night at home against the AAC's No. 5 SMU in four sets (22-25, 25-20, 25-22, 30-28) as four Tigers combined for 52 of their teams 61 kills on the night.
MU moves to 4-9 in the conference and 11-14 overall. All four of those Memphis players were led by Tabytha Toelke's match-high 16 kills.
Miaya Smith (15), Autumn Hamilton (11), and Elizabeth Orf (10) added the other 37 of 48 Tigers' kills. Smith ranks in the top 20 of the AAC for hitting percentage (.304 - 12th) and kills per set (2.75 - 16th).
Setter Sabrina Bianco coordinates the Memphis attack as she's ranked second in the American with 10.08 assists per set.
Libero Bailey Houlihan is among the leaders of the conference defensively with 4.58 digs per frame, good for third.

TEMPLE VS. TIGERS

Memphis took down Temple in Memphis in four sets (18-25, 25-18, 23-25, 23-25) on Sept. 26 as Gem Grimshaw led the Owls as she recorded a double-double with a team-high 16 kills and 13 digs.
Memphis has won two-straight matches in the all-time series versus Temple but still trails in the series, 10-4, dating back to the opener in 2013.
The Tigers have won three of the past five meetings, all at home, but the only win in McGonigle Hall came on Oct. 12, 2014.

SCOUTING SMU

The Mustang volleyball team won the first set against the Memphis Tigers on Wednesday night but dropped the match in four sets, 25-22, 20-25, 22-25, 28, 30, to fall to fifth place in the AAC at 8-5 and 12-11 overall on the season.
SMU tallied 20 block assists, led by Kaylyn Winkler, who finished with six, followed by Hannah Jacobs with five. Jadyn Bauss and Zairyn Hemsley both notched double-doubles on the day. Bauss tallied 11 kills and a team-high 18 digs, while libero Bria' Merchant also tied for the team-high of 18 digs. Helmsley led the match with 47 assists and dug 15 balls.
On the season, SMU is ranked third in the AAC with a .228 hitting percentage.
Helmsley leads the Mustangs to a third-place ranking with assists per game at 11.97 per frame.
In the conference, Alex Glover and Kaitlyn Winkler are the two top performers at hitting percentage at .386 and .379.

TEMPLE VS. MUSTANGS

SMU has won the last three meetings against the Owls, including picking up a four-set win (23-25, 25-18, 25-22, 25-19) in Dallas earlier this season.
Gem Grimshaw led the team with a solid all-around match with a double-double (13 kills, 12 digs). Katerina Papazoglou led the team with 14 putaways, while setter Patrycja Zielinska had 44 assists, one of seven times this season the freshman distributor achieved the 40-kill mark.

For complete coverage of Temple volleyball, follow the Owls on social media @Temple_VB (Twitter), facebook.com/TempleOwls (Facebook), @temple.vb (Instagram), or visit the official home of Temple University Athletics at owlsports.com.

Owls to Host Memphis and SMU this Weekend in McGonigle

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Miray Bolukbasi

Falanika Danielson

Taylor Davenport

Gem Grimshaw

Katerina Papazoglou

Patrycja Zielinska

Temple University Athletics

Owls to Host Memphis and SMU this Weekend in McGonigle

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Miray Bolukbasi

Falanika Danielson

Taylor Davenport

Gem Grimshaw

Katerina Papazoglou

Patrycja Zielinska

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