TEMPLEV O L L E Y B A L L

MATCH INFORMATIONDate.............................September 23, September 25Site ..........................................................McGonigle HallLive Stats ......sidearmstats.com/temple/wvball/mediaVideo ..................................................owlsports.com/watchTemple vs. Tulane .............................................................. 3-1Last Meeting .................................................L, 3-1 at TulaneTemple vs. Houston ......................................................... 4-3Last Meeting ..........................................W, 3-0 at HoustonTwitter Updates....................................... @Temple_VB

SCHEDULE/RESULTSDay Date Opponent TimeSonestra Philadelphia Hotel Temple InvitationalFri. Aug. 26 vs. Northern Arizona W, 3-1Sat. Aug. 27 Hampton W, 3-0

Puerto Rico ClásicoFri. Sep. 2 vs. Virginia Tech L, 2-3Sat. Sep. 3 vs. Alabama L, 1-3

Hilton Penn’s Landing Cherry & White Challenge Fri. Sep. 9 Cleveland State L, 3-2Sat. Sep. 10 New Hampshire W, 3-1Sat. Sep. 10 Rutgers W, 3-0

Philadelphia Big 5 Tournament (at Penn/La Salle)Fri. Sep. 16 Villanova (at Penn) W, 3-0Sat. Sep. 17 at La Salle W, 3-1Sat. Sep. 17 Penn (at La Salle) W, 3-0

American Athletic ConferenceFri. Sep. 23 vs. Tulane 7:00 p.m.Sun. Sep. 25 vs. Houston 1:00 p.m.Wed. Sep. 28 at UConn 5:00 p.m.Sun. Oct. 2 at Memphis 1:00 p.m.Fri. Oct. 7 at Tulsa 1:00 p.m.Sun. Oct. 9 at SMU 2:00 p.m.Fri. Oct. 14 vs. USF 7:00 p.m.Sun. Oct. 16 vs. UCF 1:00 p.m.Fri. Oct. 21 at ECU 7:00 p.m.Sun. Oct. 23 at Cincinnati 1:00 p.m.Wed. Oct. 26 vs. UConn 5:00 p.m.Fri. Oct. 28 vs. Memphis 7:00 p.m.Fri. Nov. 4 at Houston 8:00 p.m.Sun. Nov. 6 at Tulane 12:00 p.m.Fri. Nov. 11 vs. Cincinnati 7:00 p.m.Sun. Nov. 13 vs. ECU 1:00 p.m.Fri. Nov. 18 at UCF 7:00 p.m.Sun. Nov. 20 at USF 1:00 p.m.Wed. Nov. 23 vs. SMU 1:00 p.m.Fri. Nov. 25 vs. Tulsa 1:00 p.m.

All times Eastern. | Home matches in bold

Lauren Ferrett, Associate Director for Athletic Communications | Email: lauren.ferrett@temple.eduO: 215-204-1608 | C: 570-313-2338 | Website: www.OwlSports.com

2016 MATCH NOTES - TEMPLE VS. TULANE (9/23) & HOUSTON (9/25)

THE MATCH-UPS

TEMPLE HEADLINES• Temple carries a 7-3 overall record heading into conference play.• The Owls have won five in a row, including winning all three matches at last

weekend’s Philadelphia Big 5 Tournament. • At the Big 5 Tournament, the Owls topped Villanova (3-0), La Salle (3-1), and Penn

(3-0), with sophomore Mia Heirakuji being named MVP, and senior Tyler Davis earning All-Tournament honors.

• Temple is in their fourth year of American Athletic Conference play.• The Owls are coming off their second-straight 24-8 season, also compiling a 15-5

record to place second in The American Athletic Conference• The 24 wins tied the 2014 squad for the most wins since the 2002 season• Head Coach Bakeer Ganesharatnam is in his sixth season with the Owls, recently

winning his 100th career match to move to 100-62. • Temple was picked to finish second in the conference preseason poll• The Owls had the most representatives on the preseason All-American Athletic

Conference team, with three players making the list -- Irem Asci, Kirsten Overton, and Izzy Rapacz

• Asci (1st team), Overton (1st team), and Rapacz (2nd team) are returning 2015 All-Conference honorees

• Dara Peric (2nd team; Freshman of the Year) and Tyler Davis (2nd team) are also returning All-Conference selections, as both were honored in 2014

• The Owls finished their tough non-conference slate with a 7-3 overall record, playing six teams that made the 2015 NCAA Tournament.

• Temple went 2-0 to win the Temple Invitational the first weekend of the season, defeating Northern Arizona (3-1) and Hampton (3-0).

• Senior Izzy Rapacz was named Temple Invitational MVP, while juniors Irem and Kyra Coundourides earned All-Tournament honors.

• The Owls took second and finished second at the Cherry and White Challenge, with Kirsten Overton and Asci earning All-Tournament nods.

TEMPLE OWLS7-3, 0-0 American

HEAD COACHBakeer

Ganesharatnam / 6th Yr.

Overall: 100-62at School: Same

LAST MATCHW, 3-0 vs. Penn

9/17/16

TULANEGREEN WAVE

8-4, 0-0 American

HEAD COACHJim Barnes

/ 1st Yr.Overall: 342-272

at School: 8-4

LAST MATCHW, 3-0 vs. Abilene Christian

9/17/16

HOUSTONCOUGARS

5-6, 0-0 American

HEAD COACHKerry Carr / 20th Yr.

Overall: 564-228 at School: 65-71

LAST MATCHL, 3-0 at Rice

9/17/16

TEMPLE VOLLEYBALL ON SOCIAL MEDIA - #TUVB #GDQ

/TempleVolleyball @Temple_VB @Temple.VB

2016 TEMPLE VOLLEYBALL ROSTERNO NAME YR POS HT HOMETOWN/PREVIOUS SCHOOL1 Irem Asci Jr. OH 5-11 Ankara, Turkey/Collage Ayseabla/Charlotte2 Janine Simmons Jr. MB 6-1 Centreville, Va. Centreville 3 Mia Heirakuji So. DS/L 5-5 Kailua, Hawaii/Kamehameha4 Iva Deak So. MB 6-0 Zagreb, Croatia/IV Gimnazija Zagre/Iowa West.5 Dara Peric Jr. OH 6-0 Belgrade, Serbia/HS of Tourism7 Kyra Coundourides Jr. S 5-10 Brunswick, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit/Virginia Tech8 Carla Guennewig So. MB 6-2 Muenster, Germany/Pascal Gym. Muenster10 Hannah Vandegrift So. S 6-0 Leesburg, Va./Loudoun County11 Kirsten Overton Sr. MB 6-1 Royersford, Pa./Spring-Ford 12 Caroline Grattan Sr. OH/RS 6-1 Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon14 Dana Westfield Fr. OH 6-0 Champaign, Ill./Champaign Central 15 Tyler Davis Sr. OH 6-0 Palm Desert, Calif./Xavier College Prep16 Izzy Rapacz Jr. OH/RS 6-2 Glenview, Ill./Glenbrook South

COACHING STAFFHead Coach: Bakeer Ganesharatnam (Queens College ’05; 6th year)Assistant Head Coach/Recruiting Coordinator: Akiko Hatakeyama (Temple ’99; 5th year)Assistant Coach: Ren Cefra (Hawai’i-West Oahu ‘13; 2nd year)Operations Intern: Christian Kiselica

PRONUNCIATION GUIDE#1 Irem Asci ........................................E-rem OST-chew#7 Kyra Coundourides ....KEE-ruh Con-DOOR-ee-dez#4 Iva Deak ............................................. Eeva DAY-ock#12 Caroline Grattan ........................................GROT-in#8 Carla Guennewig .................................Gun-uh-VIG#3 Mia Heirakuji ................................Hay-ra-KOO-gee#16 Izzy Rapacz ............................................. RAH-posh#5 Dara Peric ..................................Darr-Uh PEAR-itch

Bakeer Ganesharatnam ............................bah-KEER GAH-nez-SHA-rat-namAkiko Hatakeyama ....................................... a-KEY-ko Ha-tah-KAY-yama

AMERICAN PRE-SEASON POLL Rank School Points 1. Cincinnati 96 (7) 2. Temple 88 (2) 3. SMU 84 (2) 4. UCF 73 5. UConn 54 6. Houston 52 7. Tulsa 48 8. Tulane 36 9. USF 34 10. Memphis 29 11. East Carolina 11

• First-place votes in (parentheses)

PROGRAM INFORMATIONALL-TIME• Overall record: 861-580 (1975-2015)• NCAA Appearances: 4 (1997, 1998, 1999, 2002)

COACHING STAFFHead Coach: ................... Bakeer Ganesharatnam ................................................Phone: (215) 204-0476 ......................................E-Mail: ganesb@temple.edu ............. Career Record (Years): 93-59 (5 seasons) ....................................... Record at TU (Years): SameAssistant Head Coach: ............Akiko Hatakeyama ............................................... Phone: (215) 204-6289 .......................................E-Mail: akiko.h@temple.eduAssistant Coach: ..................................... Ren Cefra ............................................... Phone: (215) 204-6289 ...........................E-Mail: renwick.cefra@temple.eduStudent Dir. of Operations ........ Christian Kiselica ............................................... Phone: (215) 204-6289 .................................. E-Mail: templevb@temple.edu

THE OWLSLetterwinners Returning/Lost: ..............................10/3Starters Returning/Lost: ............................ 5/1 + liberoNewcomers: ................................................................... 32015 Overall Record: .............................................24-82015 American Record: .........................................15-52015 American Finish: ............................................ 2nd

TEMPLE UNIVERSITYLocation: ..............................................Philadelphia, Pa.Founded: ...................................................................1884Enrollment: ...........................................................39,000Acting President: ...........................Richard M. EnglertDirector of Athletics: ...........................Dr. Patrick KraftNickname: ................................................................ OwlsColors: ................................... Cherry (201c) and WhiteHome Court: ..........................McGonigle Hall (3,900)

NEWS AND NOTESAMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE OPENERS Entering their fourth season in the American Athletic Conference, the Owls will open conference play at home for the first time since joining the league in 2013. In season-openers, Temple is 2-1 overall in The American, and in season-opening series, the Owls are 4-2 (2-0 in 2015, 1-1 in 2014, 1-1 in 2013). Last season, Temple opened American Athletic Conference play on the road, sweeping both USF and UCF.

LAST TIME OUT: TEMPLE 3, PENN 0 (BIG 5) Temple closed out its Big 5 sweep with a 3-0 win over Penn, sealing the 2016 Championship. The Owls used set scores of 25-18, 25-16, and 25-17 to breeze by the Quakers (4-8). Asci topped the Owls’ offense with 14 kills, hitting .417. Rapacz ended the match with nine kills, eight digs, and three blocks, while Kirsten Overton had eight kills, hitting .667 with four blocks. Davis rounded out the offense with seven kills, while Coundourides had 25 assists. Heirakuji again led the defense, tallying 15 digs.

LAST TIME OUT: TEMPLE 3, LA SALLE 1 (BIG 5)Temple opened day two of the Big 5 tournament with a 3-1 victory over La Salle at Tom Gola Arena. The Owls rallied from a first-set loss, to win 23-25, 25-17, 25-15, 25-19. Three players recorded double-doubles for the Owls, juniors Irem Asci (15 kills, 11 digs), Izzy Rapacz (14 kills, 12 digs), and Kyra Coundourides (39 assists, 11 digs). From the middle, senior Kirsten Overton and sophomore Iva Deak both notched six kills, while Overton adding four blocks and Deak, three. Senior Tyler Davis had seven kills, while classmate Caroline Grattan had four in two sets of action, while sophomore Mia Heirakuji led the team with 16 digs

LAST TIME OUT: TEMPLE 3, VILLANOVA 0 (BIG 5)Temple opened the 2016 Philadelphia Big 5 Tournament with a 3-0 sweep over defending champion, Villanova at the Palestra on Friday afternoon. The Owls grabbed the win with set scores of 25-18, 27-25, and 26-24. Asci led the Owls with 14 kills and 10 digs, while Overton and Davis each tallied seven kills and just one error. Overton finished with a .429 attack and added four blocks, while Davis hit .316 with two blocks. Deak had six kills without an error, hitting .545 with a team-best six blocks. Coundourides notched 37 assists and seven digs, while Heirakuji had a team-best 12 digs.

SCOUTING THE OWLS Asci leads the Owls’ offense with 4.08 kills per set, which ranks her second in The American, while also tallying a team-best 3.25 digs per set. Rapacz is second on the Owls with 3.16 kills per set, also ranking third with 2.55 digs per set. Overton (1.94 kills/set, .379 %) and Deak (1.77 kills/set, .352%) shore up the middle attack. Coundourides runs the offense to the tune of 10.51 assists per set, also adding 2.37

digs per frame. Defensively, Heirakuji averages 2.82 digs per set, while Overton leads Temple with 44 total blocks, including six solo. Rapacz (43), and Deak (36) also top the team with blocks. As a team, Temple hits .241, holding opponents to a .176 attack. The Owls average 2.46 blocks per set, which leads the conference. SCOUTING TULANE Tulane enters this weekend with an 8-5 overall record. The Green Wave have won two in a row, topping Abilene Christian, 3-0, and FAU, 3-2, in their last outings. Sarah Ray leads the Tulane attack with 3.15 kills per set, while Tea Juric (2.96 kills/set) and Hannah Shaw (2.81 kills/set), also bolster the Green Wave offense. Justine Bowers is the primary setter, averaging 8.77 assists per frame. Defensively, Dayna Kern has a team-best 48 total blocks, while Sarah Strasner has 28. Kaylie McHugh (3.38 digs/set) and Juric (3.08 digs/set) shore up the back row.

OWLS VS. THE GREEN WAVE Temple leads the all-time series with Tulane, 3-1, with the teams splitting last season. Each team won their home match in 2015, as Tulane won 3-1 in New Orleans, and Temple won 3-1 in Philadelphia.

SCOUTING HOUSTON The Cougars enter the weekend with a 5-6 overall record, including going 0-2 in their last action, falling to Yale and Rice at Rice’s tournament. Three Houston players average 2.49 kills per set or better, including Sarah Afflerbaugh (3.02), Megan Duncan (2.52), and Brianna Lynch (2.49). The Cougars hit .203 as a team, with Keandra McCardell leading the team with 7.33 assists per set. Defensively, Katie Karbo averages 4.67 digs per set with McCardell contributing 1.86 digs per set. At the net, Chenelle Walker has racked up 31 total blocks, while Brianna Gardner has 18.

OWLS VS. COUGARS Temple has a slim 4-3 lead in the all-time series, with the teams splitting the two match-ups last year. Both teams lost on their home court, with Houston topping Temple, 3-2, in McGonigle Hall, with Temple winning at Houston in a 3-0 sweep.

PHILADELPHIA BIG 5 CHAMPIONS Temple won the 2016 Philadelphia Big 5 Championship for the third time in program history. The Cherry and White swept Villanova (3-0) on Friday, and then topped La Salle (3-1) and Penn (3-0) on Saturday to claim the title. 

TEMPLE INVITATIONAL CHAMPIONS Temple won the 2016 Sonesta Hotel Temple Invitational with a pair of victories last weekend. The Owls topped Northern Arizona, a 2015 NCAA Tournament team, 3-1 on Friday, and then swept Hampton, 3-0, on Saturday.

TEMPLE PICKED TO FINISH SECOND Three Temple volleyball players earned American Athletic Conference pre-season honors, while the Owls were picked to finish second in a vote of the leagues’ coaches. Temple’s three selections -- senior Kirsten Overton, and juniors Irem Asci and Izzy Rapacz, were the most for any American squad. Temple earned two first-place votes in the coaches’ poll, and finished in second place in the final tally with 88 points. The Owls ended last season in second place with a 15-5 conference mark and a 24-8 overall record and return three of their four All-Conference selections from 2015.

TWO TEMPLE MATCHES TO AIR ON AMERICAN DIGITAL NETWORK Two Temple volleyball matches will be part of the American Digital Network’s 18-game fall schedule. The Owls will air live on ADN for matches against UCF (away) and SMU (home). ADN is covering a total of three volleyball matches this fall.

THE AMERICAN STANDINGSSchool Conf. % All % StreakE. Carolina 0-0 0.000 10-0 1.000 W10Tulsa 0-0 0.000 11-1 0.917 W9UConn 0-0 0.000 9-2 0.818 W2UCF 0-0 0.000 10-3 0.769 W5USF 0-0 0.000 9-3 0.750 W3Temple 0-0 0.000 7-3 0.700 W5Memphis 0-0 0.000 8-4 0.667 W3Tulane 0-0 0.000 8-4 0.667 W2SMU 0-0 0.000 7-5 0.583 L1Cincinnati 0-0 0.000 5-6 0.455 W1Houston 0-0 0.000 5-6 0.455 L2

AMERICAN WEEKLY AWARDS - 9/19 Offensive POTW: Alex Mendoza, USF Defensive POTW: Brooke Berryhill, Tulsa Honor Roll: Jale Hervey, UCF Jeanne Westney, UCF Jordan Thompson, Cincinnati Kayla Williams, UConn Katie Hegarty, SMU

2016 OWL SEASON HONORSThe American Offensive Player of the Week Izzy Rapacz, 8/29/16

The American Weekly Honor Roll Kirsten Overton, 9/12/16

Temple Invitational All-Tournament Izzy Rapacz, MVP Irem Asci Kyra Coundourides

Cherry & White Challenge All-Tournament Irem Asci Kirsten Overton

Philadelphia Big 5 All-Tournament Mia Heirakuji, MVP Tyler Davis

NEWS AND NOTES

LAST YEAR’S OWL HONORS

All-American Athletic ConferenceSandra Sydlik, First TeamKirsten Overton, First TeamIrem Asci, First TeamIzzy Rapacz, Second Team

Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-AreaAlyssa Drachslin

AVCA Team Academic Award 2015 Temple Volleyball

American Athletic Conference Academic Excellence Award2015 Temple Volleyball

NCAA Student-Athlete Advisory CommitteeAlyssa Drachslin

American Offensive Player of the Week9/28 - Kirsten Overton11/30 - Irem Asci

American Weekly Honor Roll9/7 - Irem Asci9/14 - Izzy Rapacz9/21 - Kirsten Overton9/28 - Alyssa Drachslin10/5 - Irem Asci10/12 - Alyssa Drachslin10/19 - Tyler Davis10/26 - Caroline Grattan11/9 - Sandra Sydlik11/16 - Izzy Rapacz11/23 - Irem Asci

Owlsports.com Athlete of the Week9/28 - Kirsten Overton

Temple Invitational All-TournamentIrem AsciSandra Sydlik

Seton Hall All-TournamentIrem AsciTyler Davis

Cherry & White Challenge All-Tournament MVP - Izzy RapaczSandra SydlikKayla Yingling

Philadelphia Big 5 All-TournamentKirsten OvertonIrem Asci

2016 TEMPLE VOLLEYBALL TV ROSTER

KYRACOUNDOURIDES

Brunswick, Ohio#7 CARLA

GUENNEWIGMuenster, Germany

#8 HANNAHVANDEGRIFTLeesburg, Va.

#10 KIRSTENOVERTON

Royersford, Pa.#11 CAROLINE

GRATTANPittsburgh, Pa.

#12

IREMASCI

Ankara, Turkey#1 JANINE

SIMMONSCentreville, Va.

#2 MIAHEIRAKUJI

Kailua, Hawaii#3 IVA

DEAKZagreb, Croatia

#4 DARAPERIC

Belgrade, Serbia#5

DANAWESTFIELD

Champaign, Ill.#14 TYLER

DAVISPalm Desert, Calif.

#15 IZZYRAPACZ

Glenville, Ill.#16

2016 TEMPLE VOLLEYBALL STATISTICS

2016 Temple VolleyballTemple Combined Team Statistics (as of Sep 21, 2016)

All matches

RECORD: OVERALL HOME AWAY NEUTRALALL GAMES 7-3 4-1 2-0 1-2CONFERENCE 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0NON-CONFERENCE 7-3 4-1 2-0 1-2

Attack Set Serve Dig Blocking## Player sp k k/s e ta pct a a/s sa se sa/s re dig dig/s bs ba total blk/s be bhe points1 ASCI, Irem 36 147 4.08 67 341 . 2 3 5 8 0.22 13 23 0.36 2 117 3.25 1 12 13 0.36 1 1 167.016 RAPACZ, Izzy 38 120 3.16 49 272 . 2 6 1 2 0.05 13 14 0.34 0 97 2.55 2 41 43 1.13 3 1 155.511 OVERTON, Kirsten 35 68 1.94 13 145 . 3 7 9 1 0.03 0 0 0.00 1 4 0.11 6 38 44 1.26 1 0 93.04 DEAK, Iva 31 55 1.77 11 125 . 3 5 2 2 0.06 7 19 0.23 0 27 0.87 4 32 36 1.16 7 0 82.015 DAVIS, Tyler 28 45 1.61 19 154 . 1 6 9 1 0.04 0 0 0.00 3 15 0.54 1 11 12 0.43 0 0 51.55 PERIC, Dara 38 28 0.74 16 117 . 1 0 3 6 0.16 6 11 0.16 5 64 1.68 1 1 2 0.05 2 0 35.512 GRATTAN, Caroline 12 18 1.50 12 56 . 1 0 7 1 0.08 0 0 0.00 1 8 0.67 0 1 1 0.08 1 0 18.57 COUNDOURIDES, Kyr 35 17 0.49 4 48 . 2 7 1 368 10.51 11 15 0.31 0 83 2.37 1 9 10 0.29 0 4 33.52 SIMMONS, Janine 6 7 1.17 4 18 . 1 6 7 0 0.00 0 0 0.00 0 1 0.17 1 1 2 0.33 2 0 8.58 GUENNEWIG, Carla 7 5 0.71 4 15 . 0 6 7 1 0.14 4 6 0.57 0 2 0.29 1 4 5 0.71 0 0 12.010 VANDEGRIFT, Hannah 10 3 0.30 0 4 . 7 5 0 49 4.90 1 1 0.10 0 9 0.90 0 1 1 0.10 0 1 4.53 HEIRAKUJI, Mia 38 0 0.00 1 2 - . 5 0 0 37 0.97 6 7 0.16 15 107 2.82 0 0 0 0.00 0 0 6.0

TEAM - - - - - - - - - - - 6 - - - - - - - - -TEMPLE 38 513 13.50 200 1297 . 2 4 1 476 12.53 61 96 1.61 33 534 14.05 18 151 93.5 2.46 17 7 667.5Opponents 38 425 11.18 204 1257 . 1 7 6 387 10.18 33 83 0.87 61 499 13.13 16 117 74.5 1.96 15 6 532.5

Team Statistics TEMPLE OPPATTACK K i l l s 513 425 E r r o r s 200 204 Total Attacks 1297 1257 Attack Pct . 2 4 1 . 1 7 6 K i l l s / S e t 13.5 11.2SET A s s i s t s 476 387 A s s i s t s / S e t 12.5 10.2SERVE A c e s 61 33 E r r o r s 96 83 A c e s / S e t 1.6 0.9SERVE RECEPTIONS E r r o r s 33 61 E r r o r s / S e t 0.9 1.6DEFENSE D i g s 534 499 D i g s / S e t 14.1 13.1BLOCKING Block Solo 18 16 Block Assist 151 117 Total Blocks 93.5 74.5 B l o c k s / S e t 2.5 2.0 Block Errors 17 15Ball handling errors 7 6ATTENDANCE T o t a l 3132 362 Dates/Avg Per Date 5/626 2/181 Neutral site #/Avg 3/36 Current win streak 5 - Home win streak 2 -

Date Opponent Score Score by set Att.Aug 26 NAU W 3-1 25-15,18-25,25-20,25-20 1216Aug 27 HAMPTON W 3-0 25-23,25-15,25-20 765Sep 02 vs Virginia Tech L 2-3 25-23,21-25,25-21,18-25,14-16 0Sep 03 vs Alabama L 1-3 15-25,25-22,21-25,22-25 0Sep 09 CSU L 2-3 25-16,22-25,22-25,25-21,8-15 527Sep 10 UNH W 3-1 26-24,25-21,18-25,25-15 223Sep 10 RUTGERS W 3-0 25-13,25-14,25-18 401Sep 16 vs Villanova W 3-0 25-18,27-25,26-24 109Sep 17 at LaSalle W 3-1 23-25,25-17,25-15,25-19 181Sep 17 at PENN W 3-0 25-18,25-16,25-17 181

Record in 3-set matches: 4-0Record in 4-set matches: 3-1Record in 5-set matches: 0-2

In six years on North Broad Street, Bakeer Ganesharatnam has turned Temple volley-ball into a high-level program at the top of the American. Over Ganesharatnam’s tenure, Temple has continually surpassed expectations and has now proven itself as a top team in a strong conference. Most recently, Ganesharatnam’s 2015 squad recorded a 24-8 overall record, including a 15-5 mark in the American Athletic Conference. The Owls finished alone in second in the conference, having defeated each conference opponent at least once during the season, while also recording seven-straight wins to close the season. The 2015 squad tied the 2014 team for wins, the program’s best record since 2002. Individually, Temple boasted two American Player of the Week selections in junior Kirsten Overton and sophomore Irem Asci, while seven Temple players accounted for 11 American Weekly Honor Roll selections. In year-end awards, senior Sandra Sydlik, junior Kirsten Overton, and sophomore Irem Asci were named to the All-Conference first team, while sophomore Izzy Rapacz was named to the All-Confer-ence second team. Ganesharatnam’s stellar 2015 cam-paign was built off of succes the team had during a record-setting 2014 season. The Owls finished 24-8 overall, tying for second place in the American Athletic Conference, and compiling the program’s best record in 12 years. The Owls had a number of big wins in 2014, including knocking off confer-ence champion and NCAA team, UCF. As far as individual accolades, Temple earned a conference and program record five All-Conference sections in 2014. Sydlik was named to the first team, while sopho-more Tyler Davis, senior Jennifer Iacobini,

Overton, and freshman Dara Peric earned second-team honors. Temple also boasted the American Athletic Conference Setter of the Year in Sydlik and the American Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year in Peric. Sydlik later went on to earn the program’s first All-Region mention since 2002. In 2013, Temple finished at 18-12 over-all to mark its second-straight season with a winning percentage of .600 or better. After being picked to finish seventh in the newly-created American Athletic Confer-ence, the Owls bettered that by one and placed sixth with a record of 9-9. Ganesharatnam’s 2012 squad fin-ished at 19-11 overall and advanced to the semifinals of the Atlantic 10 Tournament after not earning a spot in the tournament since 2009. The improvement from an 8-20 season in 2011 to a 19-11 season in 2012 ranked as the seventh-best differen-tial among all NCAA Division I volleyball teams. Perhaps most impressive was the similarity in personnel between the teams of 2011 and 2012, as five of seven starters returned. Chelsea Tupuola was named the A-10 Libero of the Year, while Matautia earned A-10 First Team honors. The team was largely underestimated prior to the season, getting picked to finish 11th of 12 teams in the conference. The Owls proved that placement to be undeserved, as they went on to finish fifth in the league. Among other highlights in a strong season, the Owls recorded 17.90 digs per set to rank 15th among all NCAA Division I teams, and Temple won its first-ever Big 5 Tournament in the event’s four-year history, defeating Penn and La Salle and taking Villanova to five sets. The success of 2012 followed a more moderate but important step in Gane-sharatnam’s first season. The 2011 Owls finished at 8-20 overall, a marked improve-ment over the season before his arrival. The team served up 78 aces in A-10 match-es to lead all teams, and then-sophomore Elyse Burkert Proving that he is as committed to his student-athletes’ success in the classroom as he is to their success on the court, the team’s grade-point-average has improved significantly in the years since Ganesharatnam’s arrival. In the fall of 2010, the semester GPA for the team was 3.02. Ganesharatnam took over the reins in the spring of 2011, and by the end of his first fall semester, the team posted a GPA of 3.14. During the second season of compe-tition under Ganes, the Owls posted a GPA of 3.32, and in the spring of 2013 it jumped all the way up to 3.45, showing more than

a four-tenths’ improvement in two years. In 2014, the Owls had the highest GPA of any American Athletic Conference squad, recording a 3.55. Prior to his arrival at Temple in Janu-ary, 2011, Ganesharatnam spent five years as an assistant coach at West Virginia University. He served for three seasons as a full-time assistant with the Mountaineers after two prior years as a graduate assis-tant coach. As an assistant, Ganesharat-nam served as the recruiting coordinator and worked with the players on skill devel-opment, as well as dealt with scheduling responsibilities. One year after Ganesharatnam’s transition to full-time assistant, the 2009 Mountaineers finished with their best over-all record in five years, 17-13, and won six Big East games which ranked as the most since 1998. In 2010 the team finished 15-15 and took the title at its own WVU Classic early in the season with a perfect 4-0 re-cord. Before his stint at WVU, Ganesharat-nam served as an assistant coach at Cedar Valley College in Grand Prairie, Texas, for one season. He helped the Suns reach their co-conference championship in the 2005-06 season. His duties included assisting the head coach with all aspects of the program, including recruiting, practice and competition preparation, summer camps and travel arrangements, as well as alumni outreach and fundraising. In addition to his duties as an assistant coach at CVC, Ganesharatnam also served as the head coach of the 17’s ACE Elite Team at Arlington Courts in Dallas, Texas. Ganesharatnam was not a stranger to Temple when he arrived, having worked summer camps in 2005 and 2006 with former head coach Bob Bertucci. He completed his bachelor’s degree in political science with minors in economics and German from Queens College in 2005. He played four years of volleyball there while pursuing his degree. While having a standout career at Queens, he was also a four-year letterwinner and helped the Knights to two conference championships. Ganesharatnam was born in Sri Lanka, but moved to Germany when he was five. He has been playing volleyball since he was nine. In Germany, he competed on a very successful club team from 1990 to 2000, VFL Sindelfingen, winning the regional championship and the state cham-pionship many times. Ganesharatnam and his team also made numerous appearanc-es at the national championship. Ganesharatnam received his master’s degree in athletic coaching education in 2007 from WVU.

HEAD COACH BAKEER GANESHARATNAM

6th SeasonQueens ‘05

100-62Career Record

Year Overall Conf. Finish2016 7-3 0-02015 24-8 15-5 2nd AAC2014 24-8 15-5 T-2nd AAC2013 18-12 9-9 6th AAC2012 19-11 8-6 5th A-102011 8-20 4-11 8th A-10Totals 100-62 51-36