Volleyball Hosts USF Bulls Thursday and Friday in McGonigle Hall

Thursday, November 2

Philadelphia, Pa.

4:00 PM

Temple University

South Florida

Volleyball Hosts USF Bulls Thursday and Friday in McGonigle Hall

10.31.23 | Women's Volleyball

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PHILADELPHIA - The Temple Owls' volleyball team looks to improve on its 15-9 overall record and 5-7 American Athletic Conference record as it returns to McGonigle Hall for a pair of matches against South Florida on Thursday and Friday. The Cherry and White start their weekend on Thursday at 4 p.m. ET and a 12 p.m. ET start on Friday. Both matches will be available on ESPN+.

LAST TIME OUT
The Owls went 0-2 last week in conference play at AAC newcomers North Texas and Rice. On Friday at North Texas, the Owls dropped a five-set match to the Mean Green. It was just the second time this season that the Owls would lose in the fifth set. The Owls started off winning set 27-25, but proceeded to lose the next two sets, 13-25, 16-25, but came back to win the fourth set 25-20. With the match tied, 2-2, UNT was able to knock off the Owls in five. Two days later at Rice, the Cherry and White fell in straight sets, 8-25, 14-25, 14-25.

SCOUTING SOUTH FLORIDA
Senior outside hitter Marta Cvitkovic recorded her 1,000th career kill in the team's loss to the Tulsa Golden Hurricane on Friday night. Cvitkovic along with Niki Khoshatefeh, Buse Hazan, Maria-Clara Andrade, and Caroline Dykes are the leaders offensively the for the Bulls in 2023. Hazan and Andrade are second and fifth, respectively in the conference with 3.90 and 3.46 kills per set. Khoshatefeh is fifth in the conference with a .344 hitting percentage, while Dykes dishes out the fourth most 8.88 assists per set. At the service line, Cvitkovic ranks third in the conference with .40 service aces per set.

TEMPLE VS. SOUTH FLORIDA
South Florida leads the all-time series between the two schools by the count of 16-12, but Temple has the advantage by winning four of the last five. Over those last five matches, three of those have been decided by five sets. The Cherry and White also hold a 2-1 advantage in that span.

DE-FENCE
Through 24 matches this season, Temple is 47th (4th in AAC) in the country in opponent hitting percentage .173 and 74th (6th in AAC) with 2.36 blocks per set.

Junior Chelci Banks leads the Cherry and White as she ranks 15th in the conference with .98 blocks per set. In conference action, the Marietta, Ga. native is second with 49 block and seventh with 1.14 blocks per set.

MS. CONSISTENT
Senior outside hitter Taylor Davenport became the 22nd player in school history break into the 1000-kill club. Davenport has been a consistent offensive threat for the Temple attack in 2023. On Oct. 27 versus North Texas, Davenport led the Owls with 15 kills on her away to her way to that illustrious mark. Recently on Oct. 8 at UTSA, Davenport added 23 kills, her third 20-plus kill match, and the 11th of her career. Of the 24 matches this season, Davenport has been the sole kills leader in 14 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 12th week of play, Davenport is averaging 4.19 points per set and 3.52 kills per set.

TRANSFER EXPERIENCE
Two weeks ago, graduate transfer Avery Luoma earned her first career AAC Defensive Player of the Week. In three matches versus Rider (Oct. 18) and Charlotte (2) (Oct. 20-21), Luoma averaged 4.11 digs per set and totaled 13 blocks. In the two matches against Charlotte, 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 two weeks, 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.

So far in 2023, Luoma is second on the team with 214 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 201 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 fifth double-double this season against Niners with a season-high 17 kills and 16 digs.

In the span of 16 matches over the last six weeks, graduate transfer Olivia Vance is second on the team with 157 kills and third on the team with 456 total attacks. Additionally, Vance is second on the team with 2.45 kills per set.

SETTING SITUATION
Temple freshmen setters Lexi Yoza and Ava Blaszciek have seen significant playing time this season. Blascziek has tallied 287 assists to date, while Yoza leads the team with 288.

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 has also seen playing time this season tallying 282 assists with 10 service aces in 54 sets played.

ALL ACES
As a team, Temple is sixth in the AAC with 1.48 aces per set and fourth with 133 total aces. Individually, Taylor Davenport has helped her team's cause at the service line this season, averaging .30 service aces per set and is tied for the 10th most (27) in the AAC.

Of her 27 service aces this season, the Columbia, S.C. native has led the Owls in nine of the 24 matches. In those nine matches, Temple has earned a 7-2 record.

FIVE-SET PRESSURE
The Owls played their seventh five-set match of the season on Oct. 27, losing to the North Texas Mean Green, 25-27, 13-25, 16-25, 25-20, 11-15, falling to 5-2 on the season.

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).

UP NEXT
The Owls continue its four-match homestand in McGonigle Hall next Friday and Saturday, Oct. 10-11 as they take on the University of Alabama-Birmingham Blazers.

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.