Volleyball Continues Conference Play at East Carolina

Friday, March 12

4:00 P.M.

Temple University

ECU

Photo by: Jhalen Wingate

Volleyball Continues Conference Play at East Carolina

3.11.21 | Women's Volleyball

Match Notes (PDF)Live Stats Watch on ESPN+ (Friday)Watch (Saturday)

PHILADELPHIA -- The Temple volleyball team returns to conference play at East Carolina this weekend, playing a pair of matches in Greenville, N.C. The Owls will take on the Pirates on Friday at 4:00 p.m. on ESPN+ and on Saturday at 12:00 p.m. on ECU All-Access.

OWL ABOUT TEMPLE
Temple is 7-4 on the season with a 1-4 mark in conference play. The Owls have four matches left in the regular season and are looking for their first American Athletic Conference Tournament berth. As a team, Temple ranks third in the conference, hitting .218, while holding opponents to a .202 attack.

Individually, juniors Miray Bolukbasi (3.68 k/s) and Gem Grimshaw (3.32 k/s) lead Temple's offense, while senior Katerina Papazoglou adds 2.65 kills per set. Junior Tyler Lindgren captains the offense to the tune of 9.86 assists per set. Defensively, freshman Falanika Danielson averages 5.63 digs per set, while classmate Taylor Davenport leads the Owls with 41 total blocks, averaging 1.00 per set.

LAST TIME OUT: Temple 3, UConn 1 (25-22, 25-23, 22-25, 25-18)
Temple is coming off a 3-1 win over former American Athletic Conference opponent, UConn, winning that match 25-22, 25-23, 22-25, 25-18. Working around a third-set loss, Temple hit .271 for the match, holding UConn to a .209 attack. The Owls had five players in double digits in kills, led by double-doubles from Miray Bolukbasi (16 kills, 15 digs) and Gem Grimshaw (14 kills, 11 digs). Katerina Papazoglou notched 12 kills with nine digs, while Kayla Spells and Taylor Davenport each added 11 kills. Tyler Lindgren dished out a career-high 57 assists, while Falanika Danielson led Temple with 21 digs.

SCOUTING EAST CAROLINA
East Carolina is 2-6 on the season, but the Pirates are looking for their first American Athletic Conference wins, starting 0-6 in league play. The Pirates hit .176, ranking last in the American, allowing opponents a .195 clip against them. ECU ranks fourth in the conference in blocks, averaging 2.13 per set.

ECU's offense is led by Sydney Kleinman and Bri Wood, a pair of six rotation pin hitters. Kleinman averages 3.50 kills and 2.60 digs per set, while Wood adds 3.30 kills and 3.20 digs per frame. The Pirates split the setting duties between Alisi Motu'apuaka (6.57 a/s) and Janiece Jefferies (4.53 a/s). Defensively, S'mara Riley leads ECU at the net with 1.20 blocks per set, while Camryn Allen totals 4.30 digs per frame.

LAST TIME THEY MET: ECU 3, Temple 0 (11/3/19 at ECU)
Temple fell in three close sets on the road at East Carolina, falling 25-23, 26-24, 25-23. The Owls' offense was outmatched, as ECU hit .266 to Temple's .186, but it was the Pirates' ability to make runs when they needed, closing out three sets that were all decided by just two points. Gem Grimshaw tallied a double-double with 13 kills and 13 digs, while Peyton Boyd finished with 12 kills and eight digs. For East Carolina, Bri Wood racked up 18 kills, 14 digs and a .326 hitting percentage.

TEMPLE VS. EAST CAROLINA
Temple owns the all-time series against East Carolina, 7-2. Temple won the first six matches in the series, before the Pirates broke through with a 3-1 in the teams only meeting in 2018. Last season, Temple and ECU split a pair of matches, each winning on their home court.