Temple Volleyball Upsets Memphis, 3-0
By: Melissa Payavis
Temple looked to clinch their first conference win this season as Memphis came to Philadelphia. The Owls swept the Tigers 3-0 with three comfortable victories of 25-17, 25-16, and 25-15. Temple is 8-1 all-time with Memphis, winning the sixth straight meeting between the two teams. The last time they met Temple took the match in a narrow 3-2 victory.
The Owls led the match for almost the entirety of the three sets. The second set proved to be the only challenge, as Temple did not begin to take the lead until after each team had 10 points. The real star of the day was the defense, with 11 team blocks and 64 digs total. Junior libero Mia Heirakuji had the best on the day with 18 digs.
“One of our goals was to definitely have a good focus throughout the game and I think we definitely achieved that,” captain Izzy Ropacz said. “We didn’t dig ourselves a hole which usually at one point in the game we somehow do, so I think that we were very consistent and very happy with the win.”
The serve-receive was another advantage that Temple had over Memphis. This allowed setter Kyra Coundourides the time to spread the ball to different hitters, with eight Owls getting at least two hits each. Temple will travel to Tulane to take on the Green Wave for another conference game on September 29th at 8pm.
Authors
Michael is an award-winning radio host at WHIP Radio. He has been a staple host on WHIP’s Wake Up Call, and has recently occupied the role of Program Director for the station.
