Temple University Athletics
Friday, November 15
Philadelphia, Pa.
6 P.M.
Temple University
vs
East Carolina
Women’s Volleyball Aims to Finish the Season Off Strong This Weekend
11.13.24 | Women's Volleyball
PHILADELPHIA- The Temple Owls volleyball team will be back in McGonigle Hall to host its final home match of the season against the East Carolina Pirates on Friday, Nov. 15, before traveling to face the Charlotte 49ers two days later. The Cherry and White will look to continue the winning ways that saw them sweep a pair of American Athletic Conference opponents and remain in the hunt for an AAC Tournament berth. Both matches will be available on ESPN+.
SCOUTING TEMPLE
SCOUTING TEMPLE
- Temple is 13-15 overall and 5-9 in the American Athletic Conference. They are currently tied for ninth place in the AAC with UAB and North Texas.
- The Cherry and White hosted Tulane and North Texas last weekend, resulting in two 3-0 wins.
- The Owls played host to the Green Wave on Friday. Temple swept Tulane in three sets (25-23, 25-15, 27-25) to move back into the win column. The freshman, Christiana Greene (15) and Sydney Jones (13) led the Owls on Senior Night to show the future of the program is in good hands. The seniors also showed their skill with Chelci Banks leading TU at the net with three solo blocks and Taylor Davenport added 11 more kills.
- Sunday saw another home sweep (25-20, 27-25, 25-21) against the North Texas Mean Green. Outside Hitter Sydney Jones provided another 15 kills performance, her seventh of the season. Banks protected the net once again with four blocks in the afternoon. Hikialani Kaohelaulii protected the floor with 29 receptions.
- Jones has achieved eight double-doubles this season while reaching double-digit kills on 17 occasions. She is seven kills shy of 300 kills on the season.
- Davenport leads the AAC in kills with 393 on the season, averaging 4.23 kills per set.
- Sophomore Lexi Yoza has averaged 7.93 assists per set over the season, sixth highest in the conference. She has close to doubled her assist tally from the previous season with 745, compared to 401 in her freshman year.
- Four Owls were awarded AAC weekly honors. Hikialani Kaohelaulii received AAC Defensive Player of the Week, Sydney Jones earned her third AAC Freshman of the Week. Lexi Yoza earned her second AAC Honorable Mention. Christiana Greene earned her second Honorable Mention.
- East Caroline is 16-8 overall and 9-5 in the AAC. They are set to face Charlotte on Wednesday before their match up with Temple.
- The Pirates offense is spread across three main attackers in Fran McBride (233), Ellie Pate (233) and Angeles Alderete (229). Payton Evenstad has acted as the main distributor for this season with 469 assists. The defensive side has seen Lara Uyar lead the team with 324 receptions, followed by Alderete's 275. McBride (75) and Carlia Northcross (62) have totaled 137 blocks this season.
- East Carolina found themselves up against the Tulsa Golden Hurricanes and the South Florida Bulls this past weekend. Friday saw the Pirates host Tulsa in the Willams Arena, only to fall in three sets to their fourth-place counterpart (23-25, 22-25, 22-25). Junior Angeles Alderete recorded a double-double with 12 kills and 16 digs in the closely contested match. Taryn Gilreath (18) and Evenstad (15) each recorded 15 or more assists. Sunday featured a five-set bout with ECU hosting USF with the Pirates falling short in the fifth set (27-25, 15-25, 25-22, 16-25, 13-15). East Carolina lost the kills battle to South Florida, only reaching 45 to their 67. Three Pirates achieved double-digit kills, led by Pate's 12, followed by McBride and Izzy Marinelli's 10 each. Uyar had 22 receptions in the match while graduate student Fran McBride recorded six blocks.
- Northcross is fourth in the conference for blocks per set with 1.09 and 62 total.
- East Carolina is tied for fourth place in the American Athletic Conference before this week's match up.
- The Cherry and White have a 9-9 all-time record against the Pirates since their first match in 2014. In their bout earlier this season, East Carolina took down the Owls in three sets (21-25, 22-25, 26-28).
- Charlotte is 5-22 overall and 2-12 in the AAC. They are set to host ECU on Wednesday before their match up with Temple.
- The 49ers offense is led by Kristen Birmingham's 327 kills and Maddie Stuesser's 498 assists. Birmingham has also protected the floor with 242 receptions this season. Selanny Puente (87) and Lara Kretschmer (84) have acted as the main net protectors.
- Charlotte found themselves with two more conference losses after a 0-3 defeat to South Florida and 1-3 loss to Tulsa. The 49ers played host to South Florida on Friday in a 0-3 loss to the conference leaders (17-25, 22-25, 21-25). Victoria Santana (14) and Jessica Ricks (12) led the team in digs against the Bulls. Puente recorded a .700 hitting percentage to contribute seven kills and two solo blocks. Sunday saw the 49ers fall in four against the visiting Tulsa Golden Hurricanes (22-25, 25-23, 12-25, 15-25). Starting as a highly competitive match, Charlotte lost its momentum entering the third set. Senior Kristen Birmingham recorded a double-double with 11 kills and 14 digs. Stuesser dished out 24 assists across the four sets to aid the offense. Santana protected the floor with 26 digs while Sophomore Selanny Puente protected the net with two solo blocks.
- Puente is currently fifth in the AAC for hitting percentage with .332 and 155 kills.
- Charlotte is currently last in the American Athletic Conference before this week's games.
- The Owls hold a 10-6 advantage in their series against the 49ers. TU have won the past three contests against Charlotte (9-3 in sets).
Players Mentioned
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