Oct. 1, 2008
Box Score
VILLANOVA, Pa. - The Villanova volleyball team dropped a four-set match to Temple on Wednesday night in Jake Nevin Fieldhouse as the Owls came away with the 3-1 (20-25, 25-14, 21-25, 23-25) victory.
Senior Dana Tartazky led the Wildcats (9-7) with 19 kills and a .317 clip, while freshman Maggie Mergen connected on 11 kills.
Freshman Courtney Oertli and junior Chelsea Graman shared setting duties and dished out 26 and 13 assists respectively.
Freshman Kim Maroon collected 11 digs, while senior Kaela Frizzell, Oertli and junior Amy Gulyas each had nine digs.
Temple got on the board first in the first set and would not trail throughout. The Wildcats trailed by just two points, 11-9, but the Owls went on a 7-0 run to extend their lead to 18-9. Trailing 22-13, Villanova used a 4-0 run to close the gap at five points, but Temple would not relent as the Wildcats dropped the first set, 25-20.
It was Villanova who came out strong in the second frame. A kill from Mergen put `Nova in front, 8-2, and a service ace from Oertli sent Temple into a timeout trailing the `Cats 17-8. Gulyas served three consecutive points to push in front, 21-10 and secured the second set victory after connecting on a kill.
Set three was close as the teams found themselves in a 12-12 tie following a kill from Tartazky. Gulyas hit a kill to tie the score at 16, but Temple scored three quick points and sent VU to the sidelines in a timeout. Temple regrouped after a miscue brought Villanova to within a point, 20-19, but the Owls used a 5-2 run to close out the third stanza and take a 25-21 victory.
The Wildcats fell into a hole early in the fourth set as Temple held a 14-9 advantage, but a 5-2 run from VU closed the gap to just two points, but still trailing, 16-14. An attack error from Temple pushed `Nova to within two points and Villanova used a final timeout when the Owls went up, 22-19. A kill from senior Whitney Harrington and an error from Temple saw VU close within a point, 23-22, but the Owls would take the match victory as Villanova faltered on the final play.
The Wildcats will return to the court to continue the homestand on Saturday, Oct. 4 when Fordham visits Jake Nevin Fieldhouse. The match is set to begin at 4:00 p.m.
