Category Archives: Volleyball

Home invite begins with Central Connecticut

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The Owls kick off the Temple Invitational Friday afternoon with their first match against Central Connecticut, looking to win their second home match of the season.

Temple enters the match 7-4 coming off a straight-set sweep over New Jersey Institute of Technology on Wednesday night to kick off an eight-game home stand.

Coach Bakeer Ganes has stressed for several weeks that the offense is trying to get junior outside hitter Gabriella Matautia more involved. Wednesday night she dropped 12 kills against the Highlanders, tying fellow junior outside hitter Elyse Burkert.

Ganes expects a tough match from the Blue Devils, despite their 5-5 record.

“Central Connecticut usually is pretty solid,” he said. “I think it really comes down to what we’re going to do on our side. We really have to take care of our business.”

The match starts at 4 p.m. in McGonigle Hall.

-Jake Adams

Volleyball hosts New Jersey Institute of Technology

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The Owls return to the confines of McGonigle Hall for the first time this season, as they host New Jersey Institute of Technology tonight at 6 p.m.

The Rams went 3-0 over the weekend to win the Rose Hill Classic, defeating Stony Brook University, Cornell and Fordham.

Temple is coming off a 2-1 weekend with their only loss coming to Miami (OH).

The Owls will be looking to their three leaders in the match. Senior libero Chelsea Tupuola is second in the Atlantic 10 Conference with 4.86 digs per set. Sophomore setter Tiffany Connatser currently sits 31st in the country with 11.11 assists per set and on the other end of those sets is junior outside hitter Elyse Burkert, who’s 4.60 kills per set is tied for 10th in the nation.

-Jake Adams

Volleyball takes down Indiana State

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It all comes down to tonight’s matchup against Miami (OH) for the Owls.

Temple is one win away from their second consecutive tournament championship of the season after taking down Indiana State 3-1 Saturday afternoon. They defeated Chicago State in straight sets Friday night to open the Miami (OH) Invitational.

Offense was again the key for the young squad as they won 25-20, 20-25, 25-27, and 25-15.

Led by junior outside hitter Elyse Burkert’s 19 kills and 11 digs–her fifth straight double-double–the Owls had a .254 hitting percentage. It was a similar scene as the previous match against the Cougars, except this time the offense committed 20 hitting errors against five the previous night.

Temple originally trailed 9-3 to open the match, but a 6-1 rally got them to within striking distance. They finally tied the score 20-20 before taking the lead off four points by junior outside hitter Gabriella Matautia- a kill, block and two aces.

The second set was closer, the Owls never led by more than four points. Indiana State closed out the final three points thanks to two hitting errors by Burkert and an ace.

Burkert and company responded in the third set, however. After a Burkert hitting error tied the score at 8-8 the Owls jumped out to an 11-3 run before clinching the set thanks to a service error by the Sycamores.

The final set was much of the same. Temple led the entire set, as the closest Indiana State could get was to 9-10 before Burkert and Matautia took control, finishing off the match.

The win brings the Owls to 6-3 on the season, while dropping the Sycamores to 1-8.

Burkert was the only player to record a double-double in the match. She also tallied 16 kills on 27 attempts and 11 digs Friday night, making a strong case for tournament MVP.

Matuatia reached 13 kills along with three aces while senior outside hitter Jingyu Zhang hit .320 with 12 kills of her own. Sophomore setter Tiffany Connatser had another solid match with 49 assists, an ace and eight digs.

Senior libero Chelsea Tupuola led the match with 20 digs, six more than any other player.

Overall the Owls hit .254 for the match, their third consecutive match hitting at least .200. The Sycamores were held to .148 on 135 attempts.

Temple’s next match is Saturday night against Miami (OH) who is also 2-0 in the tournament. The RedHawks won 3-2 over Indiana State Friday night and cruised in straight sets over Chicago State. The winner takes home the Miami (OH) Invitational title.

-Jake Adams

Win would give Owls tournament title

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The Owls are looking to cap off the Miami (OH) Invitational Saturday night with a win over host Miami (OH).
The schedule might have saved the best matchup for last, as the team is prepared for its toughest battle of the weekend.
The winner of the match will walk away with the tournament championship. A win would mark the second consecutive tournament title for the Owls.
“I expect them to be the toughest matchup for us,” coach Bakeer Ganes said Wednesday. “They are bigger and more physical than us so I think it’s really going to come down to serve-receive.”
The offense is also looking to maintain the pace it set Friday night against Chicago State.
The Red Hawks entered the tournament 2-6 before defeating Indiana State Friday night 3-2 and sweeping Chicago State in straight sets Saturday morning.
Game time is set for 7:30 p.m.

Jake Adams

Volleyball sets up against Indiana State

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Following a convincing 3-0 victory over Chicago State on Friday the Owls have their sights set on the first of their two remaining matchups Saturday in the Miami (OH) Invitational.

Temple takes the court against Indiana State at 1 p.m. looking to improve on its 5-3 record.

The Sycamores enter the game 1-6 after losing to Miami (OH) Friday night. Five of those losses, however, have come in the fifth set.

“I think we can definitely compete with them on offense,” coach Bakeer Ganes said Wednesday. “We just have to be smart about our shot selection.”

Ganes also hopes to get the junior outside hitter Gabriella Matautia more involved after a disappointing Big 5 Tournament performance last weekend.

“I think it was a combination of different things,” Ganes said. “We really didn’t put her in a situation where she could be successful. [She] probably didn’t have the best weekend either, physically.”

-Jake Adams

Volleyball begins weekend series

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The volleyball team is off to a 4-3 start this season heading into this weekend’s Miami Invitational in Oxford, Ohio.

The Owls begin their tournament slate with Chicago State (2-7) Friday evening before taking on Indiana State (1-6) and Miami (Ohio) (1-6) on Saturday.

On paper Temple matches up well against Chicago State, coach Bakeer Ganes said. The squad sports the Atlantic 10 Conference’s best dig rate, with 16.38 per set.

“I think we definitely have the advantage over them on defense,” Ganes said. “I think we move just a little bit better on defense.”

Offensively the Owls have more weapons, led by junior outside hitter Elyse Burkert’s 4.29 kills per set.

Ganes said the Cougars’ veteran depth, despite having several transfers, makes them dangerous.

“To be honest with you I don’t really know much about them because I never played them before,” he said.

Game time is scheduled for 4 p.m. Friday.

-Jake Adams

Volleyball named Big 5 tournament champion

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After a draining loss to Villanova in the early game of in the Big 5 tournament on Saturday, the volleyball team defeated La Salle 3-0 in the late game and was named Big 5 tournament champion.

“We know that’s someone that we have to beat,” senior Chelsea Tupuola, who was named tournament MVP, said of La Salle. “Our team has heart, we know that.”

“Because we had such a heartbreaking loss to Villanova, it was really good that we stayed together as a team,” coach Bakeer Ganes said. “We were able to grind it out and beat La Salle in three, because it easily could have gone four, maybe five sets. We were worn out physically and mentally.”

Temple was able to put together runs at crucial points to close out both the first and second sets. In both sets, La Salle took early leads but the Owls were able to respond in both to close each set out, winning the first set 25-22 with a late surge and the second set 25-20.

In the third and final set, Temple wasted no time jumping out to an early lead, and cruised to a 25-12 victory.

“It might have looked easy from here, but it certainly wasn’t down there,” Ganes said. “It was hard work and we knew that going in it was going to be a lot of work”

Tiffany Connaster led the way for the owls with a double-double of 36 assists and 13 digs, while junior Elyse Burkert added 12 kills for the Owls.

“We know La Salle, we played them four times last year, so we’re used to playing them,” Connaster said.

-Kyle Hall and Darius Bartolomei

Volleyball set for Big 5 Tournament

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After bouncing back to win the last two games of the South Carolina Invitational last weekend and salvaging a 2-2 record before its return home, the volleyball team will participate in the annual Big 5 Tournament at the Palestra this weekend.
The Owls dropped two out of three in this same tournament last season, losing to Penn 1-3, Villanova 0-3 and beating La Salle 3-1. They will have a chance to play the same three teams, Penn on Friday night at 7 p.m., and Villanova and La Salle Saturday at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m., respectively.
Penn has yet to play a match this season while La Salle is 1-3 with their lone win coming against Niagara. Villanova is 2-1 so far after beating Robert Morris and New Hampshire and losing to Maryland.
Temple started 0-2 but won its last two matches to get to .500. They’ve been led by junior Elyse Burkert, with 54 kills, on offense. She has been aided by sophomore Tiffany Connatser, who leads the team with 123 assists. Senior Chelsea Tupuola and junior Gabriella Matautia have led the defensive effort with 46 and 37 digs, respectively.
-Brandon Stoneburg

Volleyball loses first game of season

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With the first set, spike and dig, the 2012 season was under way this afternoon for the Owls’ volleyball team at the South Carolina Gamecock invitational.

South Carolina handed the Owls their first loss of the season in easy fashion. Temple lost in straight sets 25-14, 25-15, 25-18.

Junior Gabriella Matautia led the attack for Temple with 10 kills, while sophomore Tiffany Connatser added 23 assists in the losing effort. Senior Chelsea Tupuola led the team with 12 digs.

The Owls will have another shot at notching their first win later today at 5:30 against East Tennessee State.

-Brandon Stoneburg

Volleyball adds international talent

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As part of an attempt to improve upon last season’s 8-20 overall record, second-year head coach Bakeer Ganes has brought in seven newcomers, four true freshmen and three transfers, to the 2012 Temple volleyball team.

 
 “We are very excited about our incoming class,” Ganes said in a press release. “I think we have a good mix of true freshmen and transfers. They will provide us depth, experience and a very high skill set.”

 
Ganes will welcome freshmen Alyssa Drachslin, Sandra Sydlik, Alicia Wennberg and Regina Trabosh, juniors Annemarie Boehm and Paula Renteria, and senior Jingyu Zhang. The class has international experience as four of the student-athletes have experience playing in Germany, China and Norway.

 
Drachslin is a true freshman defensive specialist out of Southern California. She will play defense and libero for Temple after being the starting libero for her high school for three years and helping lead them to consecutive league titles. She was named to the first team all-league in both of her last two years at Riverside Poly High School.

 
Sydlik is a 5 foot, 10 inch setter from Berlin, Germany. She played in the highest amateur league in Germany and had a successful career with the Junior National Team.

 
Wennberg is another true freshman with an extensive international résumé. She’s an outside hitter from Stavanger, Norway and she started every game as a junior and senior for her high school. Wennberg brings valuable experience to North Philly after having a standout career with the U19 National Team, the National All-Star Team and the Junior National Team.

 
Trabosh is a 5 foot, 4 inch libero from Trooper, Pa. She was named to the first team all-league three times and first team all-area twice.

 
Boehm is a middle blocker transferring after spending two years at a Catholic University in Germany and time on the Junior National Team at the German Championships in 2005 and 2006.

 
Renteria will have two years of eligibility left after two years at West Virginia Wesleyan. Her value comes in her versatility as she can play both defense and outside hitter. She led WV Wesleyan in kills as a sophomore and was named second team all-conference.

 
Zhang, a Tianjin, China native, is a 5 foot, 10 inch outside hitter. She played the 2008 and 2009 seasons at Saint Petersburg College in Florida. While there, she was named to the NJCAA All-American First Team.

 
The volleyball team’s season opens on Aug. 24 at the University of South Carolina Invitational.
–Brandon Stoneburg