It took three weeks, but the volleyball team will finally have its home opener Friday night against Delaware State. The Owls will be home all weekend as they host the two-day Temple Invitational in the newly-renovated McGonigle Gym.

The Owls are coming in hot, winners of seven of their first nine matches which is the best start since 2001. Head coach Bakeer Ganes is in his third season patrolling the sidelines for Temple and has never been off to this good of a start as a head coach.

“I think we are doing as well as we thought we would be doing at this point in the season,” Ganes said. “I think it’s a great thing that we are off to a good start, of course. It is very important for the confidence. It shows all the hard work that the players have gone through in the summer and the pre-season. But it is not how we look like in the third week of the season, it’s how you finish.”

Temple went 3-0 at the Patriot Invitational two weeks ago and took the title, and senior Gabriella Matautia was named Tournament MVP. She also received American Athletic Conference Player of the Week,

This past weekend, the Owls went 2-1 at the Penn Invitational at the Palestra, defeating both Weber State and La Salle by scores of 2-1. The Owls dropped a tight, five-set match to host Penn. Matautia was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Opposite.

The team has eight new players and five freshman but they are coming together nicely. The freshman are getting a lot of playing time, especially Caroline Grattan and Tyler Davis. Senior transfer student Emily Carlin has been a nice addition to the team as she has gotten 10+ kills in 5 matches.

The Owls play two games Saturday, 1 PM against Brown and then again at 7 PM versus Hoftra.