Volleyball Drops to SMU in Four Sets

Friday, October 21

Philadelphia, Pa.

4 PM ET

Temple University

8-12,2-7AAC

SMU

14-7,7-2AAC

SMU

Temple

Volleyball Drops to SMU in Four Sets

10.21.22 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA – On Friday afternoon inside McGonigle Hall, the Temple volleyball team fell to the SMU Mustangs in four sets, 22-25, 21-25, 25-23, 14-25. With the loss, the Owls drop to 8-12 overall on the season and 2-7 in AAC play. The Mustangs improve to 14-7 overall and 7-2 in AAC action.

HOW IT HAPPENED

SMU's Natalie Perdue led the match with 14 kills, while her teammates Marieke van der Mark (12) and Jamison Wheelers had double-digit kills to assist in the win.
Celia Cullen (24) and Casey Batenhorst (21) combined for 45 assists in the victory for SMU.
Sophomore Taylor Davenport led the Owls with 12 kills and a career-high six service aces.
Owls' junior middle blocker Kayla Spells led the match with a career-high seven blocks.

Set 1 (SMU 25, Temple 22)

Davenport kept Temple close in the first set with a set-high seven kills on a .278 hitting percentage.
SMU edged out the Cherry and White, 17 to 11, in total team kills.
The first set featured 11 ties and four lead changes as neither team could extend their lead by more than two points until set point when Rachel Woulfe gave SMU a three-point win.

Set 2 (SMU 25, Temple 21)

TU soared to a 15-11 advantage at the media timeout with the help of back-to-back block assists from Jelena Prolic and Spells.
After the timeout, SMU chipped away at the Owls' lead as Mustangs' libero, Taylor Ticknor, rallied for five unanswered points to tie the score at 17-17. During the run, SMU forced the Temple attack into four consecutive attack errors. Perdue and London Austin-Roark combined for two team blocks in that span.
The two squads traded points, but then Casey Batenhorst gave the Mustangs breathing room with three answered points on her serve, allowing SMU to move onto the set victory.

Set 3 (Temple 25, SMU 23)

Davenport led the set with four service aces, including a pivotal point where it was tied 14-14. The sophomore came up with consecutive aces to give the Owls the lead. Temple would not trail from that point, going on to win.
The Owls forced SMU into five attack and seven service errors in the third set.
Davenport, Prolic, Spells, and Peyton Boyd all had two kills in the set.

Set 4 (SMU 25, Temple 14)

With the score locked at 5-5, Celia Cullen's serve SMU seven-point advantage. Van der Mark had a block and two kills.
The teams traded two points, but again the SMU serve of Jamison Wheeler put the lead out of reach for Temple with three more points, extending it to 10.
SMU hit .471 in the set win, with Wheeler leading the way with four kills.

The Owls return to action on Sunday, Oct. 23, with an AAC match slated against Memphis at 1 p.m. in McGonigle Hall. Following that contest, fans are encouraged to stay for the post-game autograph session with the 2022 Temple volleyball team.

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.