Comeback Win for Volleyball at SMU

Thursday, November 9

Dallas, Texas

8:00 PM

Temple University

15-8, 11-4AAC

SMU

18-8, 12-3AAC

Temple

SMU

Photo by: Nguyen Ho

Comeback Win for Volleyball at SMU

11.9.17 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

DALLAS -- The Temple volleyball team notched another thrilling come-from-behind road win, rallying for a 3-2 win at SMU on Thursday night. The Owls stormed back from an 0-2 deficit to win 21-25, 17-25, 26-24, 25-22, 17-15. Temple improves to 15-8 overall, 11-4 in conference play, while SMU falls to 18-8, 12-3 in the AAC.

KEYS TO THE MATCH
> Temple dropped the first two sets, succumbing to late SMU runs to fall behind 0-2.
> In the first two frames combined, Temple hit just .079 with SMU attacking at a .195 clip.
> The Owls' offense clicked in the final three sets, as the team combined to hit .318, including .448 in the fifth.
> The comeback started with a 26-24 Owls win in the third.
> Temple surged late in the third to win 25-22, and then won a nail-biting fifth set, 17-15.
> For the match, Temple out-hit SMU .220 to .204, and out-dug the Mustangs, 95-88.

INDIVIDUAL HIGHLIGHTS
> Senior Izzy Rapacz finished with another near triple-double, tallying 14 kills, a career-best 20 digs, and eight blocks.
> Senior Kyra Coundourides ran the offense, racking up 54 assists and adding 16 digs.
> Redshirt freshman Dana Westfield led the Owls with 15 kills.
> Junior Iva Deak notched 14 kills, hitting .407, with seven blocks.
> Senior Janine Simmons had nine kills and seven blocks.
> Freshman Katerina Papazoglou ended her night with nine kills and 10 digs.
> Junior Mia Heirakuji tied for a team-high with 20 digs.
> Freshman Averi Salvador notched 14 digs, while senior Dara Peric added six.

SET ONE: SMU 25, Temple 21
> SMU won a tight first set with a late surge.
> The lead changed hands four times before Temple edged ahead 16-14.
> From there, SMU surged, going on a 10-4 run to go up 24-18.
> Temple spoiled three-straight set points, but ultimately SMU got the set winner.

SET TWO: SMU 25, Temple 17
> Temple hit just .024 in the second set as the Mustangs increased their lead to 2-0.
> Despite the hitting woes, Temple led as late as 16-15.
> Five unanswered SMU points turned the tides, however, as SMU closed out the frame on a 10-1 run.

SET THREE: Temple 26, SMU 24
> The Owls stayed alive with a closed win in the third frame.
> Temple hit .289 to SMU's .179, but needed a late surge to get the victory.
> The Owls had an early 14-8 advantage erased by an 8-2 SMU run that knotted things at 16-16.
> SMU edged ahead, holding a 23-21 advantage, before a key Temple timeout.
> Out of the break, the Owls scored five of the next six points to win 26-24.

SET FOUR: Temple 25, SMU 22
> Another late Temple run tied the match at 2-2.
> Temple had a very early lead, but SMU battled back to tie the set at 10-10.
> The frame featured six more ties, including as late as 18-18.
> Rapacz gave the Owls a slim 20-19 lead before SMU battled back to take a 22-21 lead.
> From there, SMU recorded four-straight attack errors, the last of which was a block from Deak and Papazoglou to give Temple a 25-22 win.

SET FIVE: Temple 17, SMU 15
> 15 ties and seven lead changes were the story in the final frame.
> Neither team led by more than a point, until Temple's set and match winner at the end.
> Up 14-13 Temple had the match-winner spoiled, before SMU got back-to-back kills to go up 15-14.
> The Owls answered back with back-to-back blocks to seal the victory on the road.

UP NEXT
> Temple heads to Tulsa for a Saturday match beginning at 1:00 p.m. EST.