A pillar of Temple volleyball, Falanika Danielson is doing what it takes to bring Owls success
Danielson has 1,000 career digs for Temple, but she brings more to the table than production.
Success is no foreign concept to Falanika Danielson. Once ranked the third-best volleyball player in Hawaii as a high school senior, she’s now taken that talent on the road to Temple.
At Temple, Danielson has been named American Athletic Conference Libero of the Year and a member of the All-Conference team in 2020, as well as the 2021 Preseason All-Conference team. In an Oct. 5 matchup against East Carolina, Danielson reached her 1,000th career dig for the Owls, becoming the first Temple volleyball player to accomplish the accolade since Alyssa Drachslin did in 2014.
“Everything comes with me continuing working hard every day,” Danielson said. “But it also helps [having] the support of my teammates and holding me accountable for everything. Also my coaches for supporting me and guiding me along the way.”
Danielson had 470 digs in 2021, good enough for the seventh-best single-season total in Temple history. With the help of Danielson and first-year coach Linda Hampton-Keith, the Owls have surpassed their win total from last year. Temple currently sits at 8-13, including a 2-8 record in the American. Hampton-Keith succeeds Bakeer Ganesharatnam, who spent 11 seasons on North Broad and recruited Danielson. Garesharatnam led the Owls to a dismal 7-24 record in 2021, including a dreadful 3-17 mark in conference play.
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Danielson and outside hitter Taylor Davenport — who set Temple’s single-season record with 126 total blocks in 2021 — made Hampton-Keith’s first season a smooth transition.
“They’re willing to put the work in to get things done,” Hampton-Keith said. “It’s not easy to be a student-athlete. That’s a huge demand on their time, a huge demand on their energy and a huge demand on their mental focus… I’m just lucky to coach them.”
Danielson’s resume and success on the court speak for itself. However, performance isn’t the only part of an athlete’s job description.
The third-year sophomore is a leader in Temple’s locker room and serves an example for her teammates. Danielson is always willing to give tips and emotional support.
“We have this thing called TVB Love, and she really embodies that,” Davenport said. “She really embodies that by helping us and supporting us on and off the court. And also getting on us when she needs to.”
Given her skill and leadership, Danielson, who has at least two years of eligibility remaining, is a building block of Hampton-Keith’s program and a pillar of the culture her coach wants to establish.
Hampton-Keith stresses the importance of celebrating all victories to her team in an effort to give it reassurance and keep morale high.
“I really liked how she came in and it really didn’t matter what happened in the past,” Davenport said. “She came in, she set standards and told us what we could accomplish, told us what we needed to do to get there and brought a lot of change.”
For Danielson, who will b e a pillar of those victories, accomplishments as a volleyball player will not define who she is. Danielson believes that she — and her teammates — mean more than a stat sheet may suggest.
“Regardless of what we do stats-wise, we always put in that hard work,” Danielson said. “I think having this mindset compared to last year’s really elevates us and we can build a foundation on that.”