Volleyball Downs Delaware in Five

Friday, February 26

McGonigle Hall

1:00 P.M.

Temple University

6-3,1-3AAC

Delaware

1-2,0-0CAA

Delaware

Temple

Photo by: Jhalen Wingate

Volleyball Downs Delaware in Five

2.26.21 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Coach Presser

PHILADELPHIA -- The Temple volleyball team came out on top of a five-set marathon in the I-95 corridor battle, as the Owls topped visiting Delaware, 3-2. Temple won the first two sets but needed to go five to grab the win, 25-23, 25-22, 23-25, 21-25, 15-8. The victory improves the Owls to 6-3 overall, while Delaware evens its record at 1-1.

How it Happened
> Two evenly matched teams battled through five sets, which included 37 ties and 14 lead changes.
> Though the Owls got off to a slow start in each of the first two sets, the Cherry & White got key points down the stretch to go up 2-0 in the match.
> Delaware battled back with equally as tight wins in the third and fourth sets, tying the match at 2-2.
> Temple turned up the offense in the fifth, hitting .412 without recording an error to take it 15-8, and the match, 3-2.
> The Owls hit .268, holding Delaware to a .210 attack, including just .043 in the deciding fifth set.
> Both teams played excellent defense, but it was Temple's high-powered block that gave them an edge, as the Owls won the battle at the net, 10-4.

Individual Highlights
> Senior Katerina Papazoglou led Temple's offense with a season-best 17 kills, adding 14 digs for a double-double. She matched her career-best performance with 14 blocks.
> Sophomore Kayla Spells tallied a career-high 13 kills from the middle.
> Freshman Taylor Davenport also had a banner day, notching collegiate bests of 10 kills and eight blocks.
> Freshman Ilayda Dincer finished with 11 kills to round out the offense.
> Junior setter Tyler Lindgren dished out 41 assists, adding five kills, and eight digs with two blocks.
> Freshman Falanika Danielson again led all players, racking up a college-best 32 digs in the five-setter.
> Junior Xeryah Salanoa also had an outstanding game, with career highs of 17 digs and four blocks.

Set One: Temple 25, Delaware 23
> Temple trailed early in the first set, as Delaware jumped out to a 4-1 lead.
> The Owls took over and led 11-8 before a huge 9-0 run from the Blue Hens put them up 17-11.
> Temple stayed calm and tied the match at 18-18 and it was knotted as late as 22-22.
> The Owls were able to finish it out on a Davenport kill to put Temple up 1-0.

Set Two: Temple 25, Delaware 22
> Another slow start for Temple saw Delaware lead 12-8 midway through action.
> With Salanoa on the line, the Owls tied the match and crept ahead 15-13.
> Delaware battled back to tie, and again the set was tied late (20-20) before Temple pulled out the win to go up 2-0.

Set Three: Delaware 25, Temple 23
> Though set three was tight the whole way, Delaware led from start to finish to make it a 2-1 match.
> The Blue Hens early lead grew to seven (14-7) before Temple used a late run to cut it to 20-19.
> Delaware squashed any hopes of the Owls getting the sweep with a final kill to win it 25-23.

Set Four: Delaware 25, Temple 21
> The teams locked scores 12 times in the fourth set before Delaware pulled away late to force a fifth frame.
> Neither team led by more than two points until a 5-0 Blue Hen run put them up late, 22-17.
>Temple battled back, closing the gap and spoiling two set points for Delaware, but it was too little too late, as the visitors tied the match at 2-2 with a 25-21 win.

Set Five: Temple 15, Delaware 8
> Temple's offense shined in the fifth frame, hitting .412 to win the most lopsided set of the day.
> An ace from Danielson started the set, but Temple never trailed.
> The Owls had a slim 6-4 lead after 10 points before they began to pull away, using a 9-2 run to close out the set and the match.

Up Next
> It's another two-match weekend for the Owls, who will play defending CAA Champion Towson tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. at McGonigle Hall.