Volleyball Returns to McGonigle This Weekend to Host SMU and Memphis

Friday, October 21

Philadelphia, Pa.

4 PM ET

Temple University

SMU

Volleyball Returns to McGonigle This Weekend to Host SMU and Memphis

10.20.22 | Women's Volleyball

Live Stats (SMU)Watch (ESPN+) SMU Live Stats (Memphis)Watch (ESPN+) Memphis Game Notes Game 20-21.pdf International Streams (Both Matches)

Owls play Dig Pink match Friday; host post-match autograph session on Sunday

PHILADELPHIA – Temple volleyball returns home this weekend inside McGonigle Hall for a pair of matches versus SMU and Memphis. On Friday, the Owls will take on the Mustangs at 4 p.m. ET and then face off against the Tigers on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET. Both matches will be available on ESPN+.

On Friday, Temple will host its annual Dig Pink match and encourages all fans to wear pink. Then on Sunday, the Owls will do a autograph session on the course level of McGonigle Hall following the match with Memphis.

QUICK SETS

Coming into this weekend, the Owls are ninth in the AAC with a 8-11 overall record and 2-6. Last weekend, the Owls split a pair of matches in Florida as they fell to No. 24 UCF on Friday night by the score, 15-25, 15-25, 16-25. On Sunday, the Owls to back to the win column as they defeated the Bulls in five sets, 25-21, 19-25, 17-25, 28-26, 15-12.
The Mustangs also split a pair of matches last weekend to Houston and Tulane. SMU is 13-7 overall and 6-2 in the American after a loss a straight sets loss to Houston (22-25, 21-25, 18-25) and a straight sets win (25-15, 25-16, 25-17) to Tulane.
Memphis enters the weekend 14-7 overall and 4-4 in the AAC. The Tigers defeated Tulane on Friday night, 25-21, 25-21, 25-19.Then on Sunday, Memphis was knocked off by Houston in straight sets, 24-26, 25-27, 23-25.

OWL ABOUT TEMPLE IN 2022

Temple comes into the weekend 8-11 overall and 2-6 in AAC play, snapping a four-match losing streak. Additionally, the Owls played their eighth five-set match of the season as they improved to 6-2. After winning its first five five-set matches of the season, the Owls dropped a pair to ECU and Cincinnati on Oct. 5 and 7, but returned to thier winning ways last Sunday against USF.In conference play, the Owls are 2-2 in five-set affairs.

Sophomore Taylor Davenport continues to be one conference's offensive leaders. On Oct. 16 versus South Florida, the Cherry and White outside hitter recorded her sixth match of 20 or more kills this season as she had a match-high 20. So far this season, Davenport has averaged 3.86 kills/set, good for third in the conference. She's also tied for third in the conference with 305 total kills.

TRANSFER EXPERIENCE

The Owls began this season with two new faces to Philly, but not new faces to DI collegiate volleyball. Junior Jelena Prolic and sophomore Chudear Tut were added to head coach Linda Hampton-Keith's roster in April and will look to bolster the Owls' offensive attack in 2022. Prolic spent the past three seasons with Coastal Carolina, earning herself two Sun Belt East Championships and two trips to the conference championship round. The Subotica, Serbia native played in 73 matches for the Chanticleers from 2019-21, tallying 176 kills and digging 197 balls from the outside hitter position. Tut, a former MEAC Rookie of the Year, Second Team All-MEAC, All-Tournament Team from Coppin State will help hold the middle for the Owls. During the spring season of 2021, Tut led the team with 56 blocks and second with 151 kills. Additionally, she recorded 10 or more kills 10 times and double-digit blocks in all but one contest. Just last season, the Minneapolis, Minn. native missed the first half of the year due to injury but finished with a school-record .353 hitting percentage on 98 kills.

So far in 2022, Prolic has been key to the offense, tallying double-digit kills in 10 of the 19matches. Prolic is second on the team with 184 kills and had a career-high 24 putaways versus East Carolina on Oct. 5. Additionally, Prolic has recorded six double-doubles this season, including back-to-back matches on Sept. 30 versus Tulane with 15 kills and 13 digs and then 11 kills and 15 digs on Oct. 2 versus Houston. Additionally, Prolic is second on the team with 180 digs, and leads the team with 13 aces. Tut was big in the four-set victory over Army on Sept. 3 as she recorded 12 kills, her first double-digit kill match in an Owls uniform. Currently, the Minneapolis, Minn., native is fourth on the team with 73 kills and 38 blocks.

SETTING SITUATION

Setter Patrycja Zielinska has led the Temple offense this season to a 4-6 overall record. A season ago, Zielinska recorded 827 assists in 31 matches. This season, the sophomore is seventh in the AAC, averaging 8.12 digs/set. In 2022, the Francizkow, Poland native, has dished out 442 assists already. Zielinska came off the bench on Sunday, Oct. 16, at USF to tie a team-high with her teammate Magdalena Rogalska with 22 assists. On two occasions this season, Zielinska has topped the 50-plus assists mark twice in a match. On Sept. 3 versus St. Francis (Brooklyn), Zielinska guided the Owls to a five-set win with a career-high 57 assists. The sophomore is also second on the team with 15 service aces.

Fellow setter Magdalena Rogalska has earned a 4-5 record as a starter. The Krakow, Poland native has 308 assists on the season. Like Zielinska, Rogalska has recorded 50 or more kills on two occasions this season. On Sept. 30 in a five-set win versus Tulane, Rogalska recorded 55 assists and followed it up with a career-high performance versus East Carolina with 58. This season Rogalska is ninth in the AAC with 308 assists.

1000-CAREER DIGS CLUB

Going into 2022, Falanika Danielson had 797 career digs after a career-high 470 in 2021. The 2020 AAC Libero of the Year reached the elusive 1000th career dig mark on Oct. 5 versus East Carolina when she recorded 17 digs. So far, in 2022, the Ewa Beach, Hawaii native has tallied 262 digs, averaging 3.32 digs/set. Danielson set a season-high 23 digs versus Cornell on Sept. 10 and Oct. 16 at USF, marking the 16th and 17th times in her career Danielson achieved the 20-plus digs mark.

DEFENDING THE BACK ROW

Through 19 matches this season, the freshman defensive specialist Nalani McBride recorded 131 digs, including a career-high 25 in the five-set match versus East Carolina on Oct. 5. On three other occasions, the Stafford, Va. native has tallied double-digit kills, including 13 versus Tulane on Sept. 30 and 11 on two separate occasions. Fellow defensive specialist Nikki Shimao also played a big part in the Owls' backrow as she's accounted for 135 digs, including a career-high 15 digs against UAlbany on Sept. 9. Shimao has recorded double-digits in seven matches in 2022.

MIDDLE MANAGEMENT

Middle blocker Samantha Jo Mikosky has been a steady force, not just as a middle blocker but also at the service line. So far this season, Mikosky has blocked 87 attacks, the most in the AAC, and has averaged the fourth-best 1.12 blocks/set in the conference. Additionally, Mikosky has recorded five or more blocks eight times, including on Sept. 10 versus Colgate, the freshman tallied the third-best kills (11) total in school history.On Oct. 16 at USF, the freshman recorded nine blocks, the second most of her rookie campaign. From the service line, the Bethlehem, Pa. native has the fourth most service aces on the team with 11, including a career-high three in the five-set win versus Cornell on Sept. 10.

FRONT LINE DEFENSE

The Owls are tied for No. 4 in the AAC conference with 157 total team blocks and ranking No. 8 in the conference with 1.99 blocks/set. So far in 2022, the Owls have totaled 10 or more blocks in five separate matches, including a season-high 16 on Sept. 17 versus Penn.

FIVE-SET PERSEVERANCE

The Owls have an overall record of 8-11; in those 19 matches, they have played eight five-set matches with a 6-2 record. Temple started off the season perfect in five-setters but recently lost their last two five-set matches to East Carolina (Oct. 5) and Cincinnati (Oct. 7), but has returned with its latest win versus USF on Oct. 16.

SCOUTING SMU

Jamison Wheeler and Natalie Perdue rank seventh and eighth in kills/set. Wheeler leads the SMU with 241 kills, with an AAC eighth-best 3.35 kills/set. Perdue has 218 kills, averaging an AAC seventh-best 3.57 kills/set.

TEMPLE VS. SMU

Temple enters this weekend's match with 7-8 all-time record against the Mustangs. SMU has won the last four matches, and the last time Temple earned a victory over the Mustangs occurred in 2017 (Nov. 9) when the Owls won pulled out a five-set victory.

SCOUTING MEMPHIS

The 2022 Tigers have five players on their team with 130 plus kills this season. Jasmyn Tate leads the team with 205 kills, averaging 3.15 kills/set. Teammate Miaya Smith follows behind Tate with 195 kills, hitting .296 on the season.

TEMPLE VS. MEMPHIS

Temple enters this weekend's match with an 11-4 all-time record against Memphis. The Tigers have won the last three matches. However, Temple swept the season series in 2018.

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.