Temple Volleyball Falls to Wichita State 3-1
By: Melissa Payavis
Temple opened up conference play against the #24 Wichita State Shockers on Friday, but fell short 3-1. This was the first time the teams met, as the Shockers joined the American Athletic Conference for the 2017-2018 academic year. This was also the first AAC game Wichita State has played in any sport so far.
The Owls stayed in the sets up until the last points in the first set, with the results being 29-27. Temple took the second set 25-19, and did not allow the Shockers to lead at any point. The third set proved to be the one that counted, as the Owls and Shockers went back to back maintaining the lead, until Wichita State sealed the final point at 31-29. The evening got the best of Temple as Wichita State took the lead and ran with it for the last set, 25-15.
“Playing against a ranked opponent is always going to be hard, especially a team that’s new to the conference and that we’ve never played before,” senior Izzy Ropacz said. “We prepared so hard for this team, you know, off the court with film and scouting reports, and on the court practicing and looking at what kind of playing systems they work.”
Despite the loss, the team was proud of their defensive hits and allowed for certain teammates to excel. Ropacz set a new personal record with 21 kills on the night. Senior Janine Simmons went .471 with 17 total attacks. The Owls will host the Memphis Tigers on Sunday at 1pm for another conference matchup.
Authors
Michael is an award-winning radio host at WHIP Radio. He has been a staple host on WHIP’s Wake Up Call, and has recently occupied the role of Program Director for the station.
