Owls' Volleyball Host Friday AAC Match Versus Tulane

Friday, September 29

Philadelphia, Pa.

6:00 PM

Temple University

Tulane

Owls' Volleyball Host Friday AAC Match Versus Tulane

9.27.23 | Women's Volleyball

Temple Match Notes (PDF)Tulane Match Notes (PDF)Live Stats Video (ESPN+)International Stream Game Program

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - The Temple volleyball continues American Athletic Conference action this week with just one match, looking to improve on its 10-4 start the season. On Friday, at 6 p.m. in McGonigle Hall, the Owls will host the Tulane Green Wave. Friday's match versus Tulane will begin at 6 p.m. ET and will be available on the ESPN+ app.

LAST TIME OUT
Last week the Owls went 1-2 overall, including a midweek loss to Tulsa and then 1-1 at Florida Atlantic where they earned their 10th win of the season. The 10-win season ties last season's win total when the team went 10-21 overall.

CHERRY AND WHITE HONORS
Olivia Vance has continued her stellar play the past two weeks. culminating with a Temple Athlete of the Week award on Monday. Vance totaled 30 kills in three matches last week to begin AAC play where she averaged 2.73 kills per set on 76 total attacks. The graduate transfer had the second most points (36.5) of the Owls where she averaged 3.32 points per set. Olivia had back-to-back matches where she recorded 11 and 13 kills on Saturday and Sunday at FAU and hit .360 and .367, respectively. On the defensive side, the Saline, Mich. native totaled eight digs and nine blocks in those matches and averaged .82 blocks per set. Notably, Vance's 13 kills on Sunday at FAU ties her season-high, marking the second time this season she's reached that mark.

FLIGHT TD 14
Going into this week, senior Taylor Davenport is ranked second in the AAC and 38th in the NCAA with 4.02 kills per set. Also, the TU standout is currently second in the conference with 4.83 points per set and 27th in the nation.

TRANSFER EXPERIENCE
In the span of six matches over the last two weeks, Olivia Vance is leading the team with a .329 hitting percentage, second on the team with 63 kills, 75 points, and has averaged 2.74 kills per set. Defensively, the Saline, Mich. native leads the team with six solo blocks and is third overall with 18 total roofs.

In the two conference matches at Florida Atlantic, Vance totaled 24 kills and averaged a .367 hitting percentage.

So far in 2023, Avery Luoma is second on the team with 127 kills, including six matches of where she's reached double-digit kills. On Sept. 13 versus her former school, Princeton, the Phoenix, Ariz. native tallied a season-high 15 kills.

In the last two matches, the right side hitter Luoma has totaled 23 kills with a .293 hitting percentage. In the four-set win against FAU on Sept. 23, Luoma hit .379 with 13 kills, marking the most kills she's had in previous four matches since the 15-kill output versus Princeton.

On the defensive side, Luoma is fourth on the team with 96 teams, accumulating three matches of double-digit digs. Versus the Tigers on Sept. 13, Luoma capped off her second of two double-doubles this season with 14 digs.

SETTING SITUATION
Setter Patrycja Zielinska goes into Friday's with a team-high 244 assists which is 10th in the AAC. Zielinska also is also in the top 10 of the conference with 6.42 assists per set.

Temple freshmen setters Lexi Yoza and Ava Blascziek have seen significant playing time this season. Blascziek has tallied 139 assists to date, while Yoza has added 106.

In the last seven matches, Zielinska and Blascziek have tied for the most sets played at 20, but it's Zielinska who has dished out a team-high 103 assists.

In five of the aforementioned seven matches, Blascziek has led the trio of Owls' setters in total assists per match with 81, averaged 19 assists per match, and has averaged 4.76 assists per set.

Earlier this season in back-to-back matches versus Princeton and Saint Francis, the Minnesota native had 25 and 24 assists, respectively. 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.

Notably on Sept. 1 versus Dartmouth, Yoza got her shine, also with first career double-double when she added 24 assists and 10 digs.

ALL ACES
As a team, Temple is third in the AAC with 1.80 aces per set and tied for fourth with 88 total aces. So far in 2023, senior Taylor Davenport is the Cherry and White leader and is sixth in the conference with .41 aces per set and tied for seventh with 20 total aces.

Of her 20 service aces this season, the Columbia, S.C. native has led the Owls in six of the 14 matches where the team has earned a 5-1 record. In those six matches, Davenport has averaged three aces per match.

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
On Sept. 13, Temple earned its second five-set win of season against Princeton, winning 25-23, 25-23, 14-25, 22-25, 15-10, pushing their 2023 record to 2-0 in five-set matches.

The Owls had overall record of 10-21 in 2022 and in those 31 matches, they 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 TULANE
The Owls and Green Wave started the series in 2014 when both teams joined the AAC. In the span of nine years, The Owls have the edge with a 8-7 record with Temple winning last year's set of matches five-sets. Prior to 2022, the Green Wave held the advantage winning five straight matches.

TEMPLE VS. TULANE
Last year on Oct. 1 in the first matchup versus Tulane in Philadelphia, Taylor Davenport set a then-career-high with 24 kills in the five-set win. Setter Magdalena Rogalska added career-high with 55 assists, and Jelena Prolic pitched in with a double-double of 15 kills and 13 digs. Just a few weeks later at Tulane, the Owls dropped the first two sets of the match, but Temple won the final three sets behind Peyton Boyd's double-double performance of 20 kills and 15 digs.

UP NEXT
The Owls will be on the road next week, Oct. 6 and Oct. 8, as they travel to Wichita State and UTSA for a pair inter-divisional AAC contests.

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.