Volleyball Visits Memphis and SMU this Weekend

PHILADELPHIA - The Owls volleyball team is back on the road this weekend as they travel to Memphis and SMU to continue AAC play. On Friday, the Owls will face Memphis at 7 p.m. ET and then face off against SMU on Sunday at 2 p.m. ET. Both matches will be available on ESPN+.

QUICK SETS

Coming into this weekend, Temple is tenth in the AAC with a conference record of 3-11 and an overall record of9-16. Last weekend, the Owls dropped both of their matches versus Tulsa and Wichita State in four sets. On Friday, Temple fell to the Golden Hurricane, 21-25, 18-25, 26-24, 14-25 and then on Sunday, the Owls fell to the Shockers, 13-25, 18-25, 25-21, 20-25.
Memphis dropped a pair of matches versus USF and UCF last weekend, dropping them 17-10 overall record and 7-7 in conference play, putting them in fifth-place in the AAC.The Tigers lost in five sets to USF on Friday, 25-19, 20-25, 25-20, 14-25, 15-17. Sunday, the Tigers fell to nationally-ranked UCF, 23-25, 20-25, 12-25.
SMU is third in the conference as it enters this weekend. The Mustangs are 18-8 overall with a 11-3 AAC record after splitting a pair of matches with UCF and USF. On Friday, the Mustangs fell to UCF by the score 20-25, 25-18, 17-25, 21-25. On Sunday, SMU swept USF by the score of 25-21, 26-24, 25-22.

OWL ABOUT TEMPLE IN 2022

Temple split its conference matches last weekend, moving to 9-16 overall and 3-11 in AAC play. Coming into the weekend, the Owls are in tenth place in the conference. Last weekend, the Owls dropped both of their matches versus Tulsa and Wichita State in four sets. On Friday, Temple fell to the Golden Hurricane, 21-25, 18-25, 26-24, 14-25 and then on Sunday, the Owls fell to the Shockers, 13-25, 18-25, 25-21, 20-25.

With available records dating back to the 25-point scoring format (2008), the Owls recorded a program first against Memphis on Sunday, Nov. 25, as three players recorded 20 or more kills in a match Led by junior Jelena Prolic and sophomore Taylor Davenport's 22 kills. In addition, redshirt senior Peyton Boyd pounded the hardwood with a career-high 20 kills, the first of back-to-back matches she recorded that exact number.

The sophomore Davenport continues to be one conference's offensive leaders. In the Nov. 4 match versus Tulsa, Davenport recorded her eighth match of 20 or more kills this season.

So far this season, the Columbia, SC native is fourth in the conference with 394 kills and has averaged 3.74 kills/set, good for fifth in the conference.

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 14 of the 25 matches. Prolic is second on the team with 250 kills and 21 service aces. On Oct. 5,Prolic had a career-high 24 putaways versus East Carolina. Additionally, Prolic has recorded seven 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. Most recently, in the five-set loss to Memphis on Oct. 23, Prolic recorded 22 kills and 12 digs. Defensively, Prolic is second on the team with 253 digs. 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. The Minneapolis, Minn., native has 89 kills and 42 blocks.

SETTING SITUATION

Setter Patrycja Zielinska has guided Temple's offense this season to a 4-11 overall record as a starter.A season ago, Zielinska recorded 827 assists in 31 matches. This season, the sophomore is seventh in the AAC, averaging 7.46 digs/set. In 2022, the Francizkow, Poland native, has dished out 612 assists already. On three occasions this season, Zielinska has topped the 50-plus assists mark, including a career-high 63 versus SMU on Oct. 21. The sophomore is the team leader with 20 service aces.

Fellow setter Magdalena Rogalska has earned a 5-5 record as a starter. The Krakow, Poland native has 396assists on the season. Like Zielinska, Rogalska has recorded 50 or more kills on multiple 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.

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 a team-high 341 digs, averaging 3.41 digs/set. On Oct. 30 versus Tulane in the five-set win, Danielson recorded a season-high 26 digs. It was the fourth time this season that the Hawaii native has recorded 20 or more digs. Danielson had 23 digs on two occasions, including on Sept 10 at Cornell and on Oct 16 at USF.

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 96 attacks, the fifth most in the AAC, and has averaged .98 blocks/set, tied for seventh 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.

BOYD'S BOILING

Redshirt senior Peyton Boyd had a career-defining match on Sunday, Oct 30, versus Tulane as she recorded her third double of the season with 20 kills and 15 digs. The right-side hitter had 33 attempts and just one error, leading to a .576 hitting percentage against the Green Wave. It was also the second time in three matches Boyd has tallied a career-high 20 kills. In the last five matches, Boyd has recorded at least 13 kills in four of those contests, including the aforementioned pair of 20-kill matches.

FIVE-SET PRESSURE

The Owls have an overall record of 9-14; in those 23 matches, they have played 10 five-set matches with a 7-3 record. Temple started the season perfectly in five-setters and now has won two of their last three.

SCOUTING MEMPHIS

Setter Loren Robertson quarterbacks the Tigers' attack as she is ranked fourth in the AAC with 9.45 assists/set, and leads with 973 assists. Jasmyn Tate leads the Tigers with 263 kills, while teammate Miaya Smith follows just behind with 259.

TEMPLE VS. MEMPHIS

Temple enters this weekend's match, leading the all-time series 11-5, but earlier this season, on Oct. 23, the Tigers knocked off the Owls in Philadelphia, 3-2 (25-20, 19-25, 23-25, 27-25, 15-12.) as trio of Jasmyn Tate (16), Kate Bass (15), Miaya Smith (14) combined for 45 kills in the win over Temple.

SCOUTING SMU

London Austin-Roark enters this weekend in the top five of the AAC's leaders in hitting percentage at .328. Natalie Perdue and Jamison Wheeler rank seventh and eight in the AAC with 3.43 and 3.43 kills/set, respectively.

TEMPLE VS. SMU

Temple enters this weekend's match trailing in the all-time series with a 7-9 record against SMU. Earlier this season (Sept 21), the Mustangs defeated the Owls 25-22, 25-21, 23-25, 25-14. In the match, Southern Methodist had three players with 10 or kills including 14 from Natalie Perdue, 10 from Marieke van der Mark, and Jamison Wheeler with 10.

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.

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Volleyball Visits Memphis and SMU this Weekend

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