Volleyball Continues Conference Play in the State of Texas

PHILADELPHIA - The Temple Owls' volleyball team looks to improve on its 15-7 overall record and 5-5 American Athletic Conference record in the state of Texas against conference newcomers on Friday and Sunday. The Cherry and White start their trip across Texas with a match at the University of North Texas on Friday night at 7 p.m. ET and finish off the weekend at 2 p.m. ET against Rice University on Sunday afternoon. Both matches will be available on ESPN+.

LAST TIME OUT
The Owls went 3-0 last week with a non-conference sweep of Rider in McGonigle Hall and then went out on the road to Charlotte and picked up a pair of wins against the 49ers, 3-1 and 3-2, improving their road record to 5-3 this season.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Graduate transfer Avery Luoma Luoma helped the Owls go 3-0 this week, including 2-0 on the road in conference play as she earned back-to-back double-double matches, her fifth and sixth of the season. Defensively in three matches versus Rider and Charlotte (2), Luoma averaged 4.11 digs per set and totaled 13 blocks. In the two matches against Charlotte on Friday and Saturday, Luoma tallied her fifth and sixth double-doubles of the season. Against the 49ers on Friday night, the Phoenix, Ariz. native tallied a season-high 21 digs and a match-high six blocks. Just one day later in the series finale, graduate transfer did it again with 16 digs, while adding four more blocks.

Luoma was vital on the offensive side last week, totaling 35 kills and six service aces. Temple's right-side hitter averaged 2.92 kills per set but raised her game in the AAC weekend series versus Charlotte, averaging 3.11 kills per set. Luoma added a team-high 12 kills versus the 49ers on Friday but accumulated a season-high 17 kills on Saturday.

LONG TIME COMING
In the Oct. 21, 3-1 victory over Charlotte, a pair of Owls, freshman Lexi Yoza and senior Jelena Prolic combined for 41 digs. Both teammates accumulated 20 or more digs in the match, with Prolic leading the way with a team-high 21, while Yoza added 20. This marked the first time since Nov. 10, 2019 that a pair of Owls reached the 20-dig mark in a match.

MS. CONSISTENT
Senior outside hitter Taylor Davenport will likely break into the 1,000-kill club in the Temple volleyball record book this weekend, just needing two kills, making her the 22nd player in school history to achieve that illustrious mark. Davenport has been a consistent offensive threat for the Temple attack in 2023. Recently on Oct. 8 at UTSA, Davenport added 23 kills, her third 20-plus kill match, and the 11th of her career. Of the 22 matches this season, Davenport has been the sole kills leader in 12 of those matches, including a string of seven matches to begin the season. In each of those seven matches, Davenport recorded 10 or more kills including a season-high 24 versus Dartmouth on Sept. 1. Additionally in the match versus the Big Green, the Columbia, S.C. native added earned her second career double-double as she added a career-high 10 digs. Currently this season, Davenport is third in the AAC behind in points per set and third in kills per set. Going into the 11th week of play, Davenport is averaging 4.30 points per set and 3.60 kills per set. Davenport has also helped her cause at the service line, averaging .32 service aces per set which is the ninth highest in the AAC.

TRANSFER EXPERIENCE
So far in 2023, Avery Luoma is second on the team with 207 kills, including 10 matches of where she's reached double-digit kills. Temple's right-side hitter leads the team with five double-doubles in 2023.

On the defensive side, Luoma is third on the team with 191 digs. The Phoenix, Ariz. native has accumulated nine matches with double-digit digs, including three of the four matches versus ECU and Charlotte in October. On Oct. 21 versus in the 3-1 victory over Charlotte, Luoma reached a season with 21 digs. The next day on the Oct. 21, Luoma capped off her sixth double-double this season against Niners with a season-high 17 kills and 12 digs.

In the span of 14 matches over the last six weeks, graduate transfer Olivia Vance is second on the team with 147 kills and third on the team with 403 total attacks. Additionally, Vance is second on the team with 2.63 kills per set.

SETTING SITUATION
Temple freshmen setters Lexi Yoza and Ava Blaszciek have seen significant playing time this season. Blascziek has tallied 265 assists to date, while Yoza has added 264.

In the last 15 matches, Blascziek has saw the most playing time with 49 sets and dished out a team-high 224 assists.

Blascziek in the five-set win versus Charlotte on Oct. 21 earned her fifth match of 20 or more assists of the season as she recorded 20. Earlier this season in back-to-back matches versus Princeton and Saint Francis, the Minnesota native had 25 and 24 assists, respectively. Additionally, versus Princeton, the rookie setter earned her first double-double of her career with the with a career-high 25 assists and added 10 digs and second effort on UTSA with 22 assists and 14 digs.

Fellow freshman setter Lexi Yoza had an all-around weekend on Oct. 20 and 21 against the Charlotte 49ers. In those matches, Yoza added her third and fourth double-doubles of the season. On Oct. 20 added a team-best 25 assists and 12 digs, while the next days she added 28 assists and a career-high 20 digs, both in Owls' victories. This season the Scottsdale, Ariz. native has put together five 20-plus assist matches and four double-digit digs matches.

Junior setter Patrycja Zielinska goes into this weekend with a team-high 268 assists.

ALL ACES
As a team, Temple is fourth in the AAC with 1.55 aces per set and fourth with 127 total aces. Individually, Taylor Davenport has helped her team's cause at the service line this season, averaging .32 service aces per set and is tied for the sixth most (26) in the AAC.

Of her 26 service aces this season, the Columbia, S.C. native has led the Owls in nine of the 22 matches. In those nine matches, Temple has earned a 7-2 record.

In 2022, Zielinska led the Owls' offense at the setter position, while asserting herself as a force behind the service line. Zielinska recorded 20 or more assists in 18 contests. The senior had a team-best 32 aces, while her .35 aces/set ranked her fourth in the AAC matches.

FIVE-SET PRESSURE
The Owls picked up their fifth five-set victory of the season on Oct. 21 at Charlotte as they won, 26-28, 27-25, 12-25, 27-25, 15-11, improving to 5-1. Earlier this year on Oct. 13 against East Carolina, Temple dropped its first five-setter, 25-21, 25-22, 22-25, 22-25, 8-15, after starting the 2023 season with a 4-0 record.

A season ago, the Cherry and White played 11 five-set thrillers. The Cherry and White earned a conference-best seven wins, going 7-4. It started the season perfectly in five-setters (5-0).

SCOUTING NORTH TEXAS
The Mean Green came away with a victory in its last match, defeating South Florida on the road 25-27, 25-17, 33-21, 25-23. In the match Anyse Smith and Treyaunna Rush led the offense with 17 kills apiece, both season-high marks. Smith tallied seven of her kills in the pivotal third set and added five blocks in the match. AAC hitting percentage leader Sh'Diamond Holly paced her team at a .615 clip with nine kills on 13 attacks. Holly and teammate Truli Levy are No. 1 and No. 4 in the AAC respectively with .427 and .365. On the defensive side Aleeyah Galdeira is ranked fifth in the conference with 346 digs and seventh with 3.93 digs per set.

TEMPLE VS. NORTH TEXAS
This weekend will be the first-ever meeting between the two schools.

SCOUTING RICE
In their last match against SMU, the Owls fell in five sets, 23-25, 26-24, 22-25, 25-22, 15-10. In the loss, Danyle Courtley had a team-best 24 kills while hitting. Courtley also recorded her second career double-double, and first this season, with 11 digs. Going into this weekend Courtley is fourth in the AAC conference with 263 kills and is tied for third in the conference with Temple's Taylor Davenport with 3.60 kills per set. Overall, the Rice hitter is tied for fourth in the conference with 287 points.

TEMPLE VS. RICE
The Owls squared off against each other just once in their storied histories. The Temple Owls defeated the Rice Owls on Aug. 30, 1997, 15-6, 15-8, 15-7.

UP NEXT
Temple will return to McGonigle Hall for four straight matches starting on Nov. 2 and 3 as it hosts USF. On Thursday, Nov. 2, the Owls will play at 5 p.m. ET and Fri., Nov. 3 the Cherry and White will hold its school day game starting at 12:00 p.m. ET.

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.

Temple University Athletics

Volleyball Continues Conference Play in the State of Texas

Players Mentioned

Taylor Davenport

Avery Luoma

Jelena Prolic

Lexi Yoza

Patrycja Zielinska

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