The University of Pennsylvania women’s volleyball team concluded its non-conference schedule with a five-set match against Temple University on Tuesday night at The Palestra in Philadelphia. The match lasted nearly three hours and ended with Temple securing a 3-2 win, taking the decisive fifth set 15-13.
Set scores for the match were 22-25, 25-20, 25-21, 23-25, and 15-13. Penn now holds a record of 6-4 for non-conference play, while Temple improved to 10-4.
The match was closely contested throughout. Temple finished with 81 points compared to Penn’s 79 over five sets. The Owls recorded 64 kills while the Quakers had 62. Assists were also close, with Temple tallying 59 and Penn recording 58. In digs, Temple led with 96 to Penn’s 92. Blocks were similarly even: Temple finished with nine and Penn had eight. Service aces favored Penn by one (nine to eight).
Hitting percentages reflected the balanced nature of the contest: Penn hit .205 on their attacks while Temple hit .196.
Junior Zada Sanger led Penn’s offense with 18 kills and a .234 hitting percentage. She also contributed five block assists and two digs.
Sophomore Jenna Garner added another double-double to her season totals, finishing with 13 kills and fourteen digs—her fourth such performance this year.
Sophomore Ellie Siskin posted eleven kills and seven digs.
Four Quaker players reached double digits in digs: freshman Addison Pollock tied her season high with twenty-five; junior Elsa McDermott collected seventeen; Anna Shohfi tallied ten; and Garner had fourteen.
Shohfi also distributed twenty assists as she shared setting duties with sophomore Emery Moore, who contributed twenty-six assists along with three kills and six digs.
Senior Jalen Tennyson closed out the night hitting .500 on three kills while adding four block assists.
Freshman Haley Kerstetter recorded the team’s only solo block along with two block assists at the net.
Penn started strong in the first set but faced several comebacks from Temple throughout the match. After trading sets through four rounds—with both teams displaying multiple runs—the contest was forced into a fifth set where momentum shifted late in favor of Temple after a six-point run brought them to match point. Despite efforts from Kerstetter and Moore at the net, Temple secured victory on Leia Harper’s final kill following a timeout.
Penn will begin Ivy League play at home against Princeton on Friday at The Palestra, with first serve scheduled for 7 p.m.
For updates on Penn volleyball, follow @PennVolleyball on X (formerly Twitter) or Instagram, or visit their website at PennAthletics.com.
