Volleyball Hosts the Hilton Penn's Landing Cherry & White Challenge this Weekend

PHILADELPHIA -- Temple volleyball plays host to the Hilton Penn's Landing Cherry & White Challenge this weekend. The Owls will welcome Binghamton, Duquesne, and Montana, to McGonigle Hall for the two-day event.

THE SCHEDULE
The tournament kicks off on Friday at 3:00 p.m. when Binghamton and Duquesne square off. Temple will then host Montana in the nightcap, beginning at 6:00 p.m. Saturday's packed schedule features four games. Duquesne and Montana open play at 10:00 a.m., while Temple will face Duquesne at 1:00 p.m. Montana and Binghamton will play at 3:30 p.m. before Temple closes out the tournament with a 7:30 p.m. match against Binghamton.

LAST TIME OUT: TEMPLE
The Owls are coming off their second-straight runner-up performance, finishing second at the Seton Hall Invitational. The Owls opened play with a 3-1 win over Hofstra on Friday and then topped Notre Dame, also 3-1, on Saturday. Temple dropped its lone match of the tournament on Saturday night, falling 3-0 to Seton Hall, a 2014 NCAA Tournament team.

Despite hitting just .224 against Seton Hall, the Owls combined to hit .264 as a team in the tournament. Temple also held opponents to hitting .222 in the three matches combined. Asci led the Owls in the tournament with 48 total kills, while Sydlik dished out 123 assists. Senior Alyssa Drachslin dug 55 total balls, while junior Kirsten Overton tallied 12 total blocks in the tournament.

AMERICAN HONOR ROLL
Asci earned her first American Athletic Conference honor on Monday, being named to the conference's weekly honor roll. For the week, Asci averaged a double-double of 16 kills and 10 digs. The sophomore recorded double-digit kill totals in all three matches for the Owls, including notching her first Temple double-double with 19 kills and 15 digs in a win over Notre Dame. Asci tallied 17 kills and nine digs in a victory over Hofstra, before closing the tournament with 12 kills and six digs against Seton Hall.
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ALL-TOURNAMENT PERFORMANCES
Following the action at the Seton Hall Invitational, six players were announced as All-Tournament selections. Temple was represented on the team by junior Tyler Davis and sophomore Irem Asci. Asci has been named All-Tournament in both of Temple's pre-season events this year. Davis earns her first honor of the season.

OWL LEADERS
Asci continues to lead the Owl offense, averaging 4.55 kills per set. Davis is second on the team with 3.71 kills per set, and is also hitting .370. Sophomore Izzy Rapacz averages 2.82 kills a set, while Overton averages 2.25 kills per set, with a team-high .391 hitting percentage. Defensively, Drachslin has recorded 5.40 digs per set, with Asci second (2.30/set) on the Owls. At the net, Overton has 22 total blocks, while Rapacz has 19. Sydlik leads the team with 11.75 assists per set.

NATIONALLY-RANKED
Temple appears near the top in a pair of national stat categories this week. The Owls are second in the nation in both kills per match and assists per match. Temple averages 15.20 kills and 14.20 assists per outing. The Owls also rank eighth in the nation with a .300 hitting percentage.

Individually, Sydlik ranks ninth in the country with 11.75 assists per set. Also for Temple, Drachslin is 23rd in digs per set (5.40), while Asci is 23rd in kills per set (4.55).

SCOUTING BINGHAMTON
Binghamtom enters the tournament with a 1-6 record. The Bearcats dropped three contests last weekend at the Cleveland State Invitational. Binghamton fell to Cincinnati and Cleveland State, 3-0, and Central Michigan, 3-2.

For the season, Erin Shultz and Megan Burgess top the Bearcat offese, both averaging over 2.00 kills per set. Sarah Ngo handles setting duties, dishing out 7.63 assists per set. Bailey Walker heads up the defense with 4.78 digs pet set.

SCOUTING DUQUESNE
Duquesne enters the weekend with a 3-4 overall mark. The Dukes competed at the Duquesne/Pitt Invitational last weekend finishing 2-1 at the event. Duquesne defeated Colgate, 3-0, topped Youngstown State, 3-2, but fell to Pitt, 3-0.

The Dukes are paced offensively by Madelynn Burnham, who averages 3.46 kills per set. Molly Davet has posted 2.48 kills and 3.60 digs per set, while Sammy Kline leads the defense with 3.92 digs per frame. Lacey Levers is their top blocking threat with 22 total, while Mary Henry is their setter, dishing out 9.65 assists per set.

SCOUTING MONTANA
Entering the tournament, Montana is 2-4 on the season. The Grizzlies most recently went 0-3 at the Gonzaga Invitational. Montana lost to Utah (3-1), Gonzaga (3-0), and Wyoming (3-1).

The Grizzlies hit .164 as a team, while opponents hit .231 against them. Individually, Hannah Sackett leads the team with 3.26 kills per set, whilee Capri Richardson averages 2.57. Raegan Lindsey (5.71/set) and Rachel DeArman (5.43/set) lead the team in assists, splitting the setting duties. Defensively, Richardson tops the team with 18 total blocks, while Sadie Ahearn averages a team-best 3.65 digs per set.

OWLS AGAINST THE FIELD
Temple is 37-9 all-time against the tournament field. The Owls are 35-6 all-time against Duquesne, a former Atlantic-10 foe for Temple. The cherry and white are 0-1 all-time against Montana, with the Grizzles winning the only match-up, a 3-2 victory in 2010. This will be the first ever meeting between Temple and Binghamton.

NEXT UP
Following the Hilton Penn's Landing Cherry & White Challenge, the Owls have one more tournament before hitting conference play. Temple will co-host the 2015 Philadelphia Big 5 Tournament, playing La Salle at the Palestra on Friday, before hosting four matches, including playing Penn and Villanova, on Saturday.

Live Stats | Live Video (vs. Montana) | Live Video (vs. Duquesne) | Live Video (vs. Binghamton) | Match Notes (PDF)

Volleyball Hosts the Hilton Penn's Landing Cherry & White Challenge this Weekend

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Players Mentioned

Irem Asci

Tyler Davis

Alyssa Drachslin

Kirsten Overton

Izabella Rapacz

Temple University Athletics