By: Ben Medland
Last Game: September 15, 2017 at Villanova
The Owls fell to a record of 4-4 on the season as they lost an away match last Friday night. The Owls fought hard and managed to steal one set from the Villanova Wildcats. Stellar performances were turned in by Irem Asci, who kept the sets close, with 19 kills and 3 aces. Iva Deak also scored double digits in kills with 10, along with 5 blocks. Asci and Deak played hard and helped the team dominate the court against the Wildcats. However, their performances were not enough to carry the team to their fifth victory of the season, as they fell 3-1. Temple has dropped from no. 8 to no.12 in the nation in blocks per set.
Standout Star: Irem Asci
Irem Asci has been putting in great performances in recent games. She, stuffed the stat sheet against Villanova and in their game against Boston College, where she had 10 kills and 10 digs. The outside hitter looks to increase her total of kills, as she sits second on the team for kills with 64. Some other season totals for Asci include, 47 digs, 10 blocks and 5 assists. She currently leads the team in kills per set, averaging 2.91 kills per set. Asci is looking to get back to her dominate role, like she had in 2015, where she lead the team in kills per set with 3.68.
Next Game: Friday, September 22, 2017, against #24 Wichita State, 7 pm
The Owls face off against the Wichita State Shockers, for the first time in the school’s history. The Shockers joined the AAC for the 2017-18 school year, and have been playing outstanding thus far in the new conference. The team currently sits at a record of 8-3 and is ranked at 24th in the nation, the second time this season that the team has been ranked. The Shockers are coming off of a huge weekend where they went 1-1 against two tough nationally ranked teams. The team won a crucial game against #8 Creighton, 3-1, but fell in the second game when they could not manage to steal a set from #19, Iowa State. The Shockers look to continue their recent success, with a win tonight in Philadelphia. However, the Temple Owls, are desperate for a win as they look to start another win-streak tonight. So far this season, the Owls are 1-0 at home, and look to stay undefeated tonight on their home court. The Owls need to shut down Wichita State’s Tabitha Brown, and Abbie Lehman who both have a lot of kills this season. If the Owls can continue with their “block party” and shut down key players for the Shockers, then they should have no problem jumping to 5-4 this season. The Owls may have a little trouble if they can’t eliminate the early successful hitting by the Shockers.
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