By Tony Adams for Temple College
While all basketball, baseball, and softball continue through their fall workout schedules, the volleyball team is rounding into midseason form as they completed their second full week of non-conference play.
Volleyball continues their road trip on Tuesday at Dallas College Eastfield, and with four games at the Odessa College Invitational Tournament. In that tournament, the Leopards will face New Mexico Junior College (Thursday, 4 p.m.), Iowa Western Community College (Friday, 10 a.m.), Dodge City Community College (Friday, 2 p.m.), and Navarro College (Saturday, 10 a.m.).
Volleyball electrifies at home, successfully passed tests in Dallas
The Leopards began their second full week of action with their home opener against Coastal Bend College.
Temple shook off an early attack by the Cougars by settling into their game plan and swept Coastal by scores of 25-23, 25-13, and 25-10.
The balanced attack by the Leopards yielded 32 kills, 28 digs, and 26 assists.
Haley Tucker, Nyla Lewis, Courtnee Morgan and Jordyn Carpenter combined to lead the Leopards along the net with 55 attacks and 24 kills. Libby Flores notched 14 assists, and Pauline Gonzales had 10 digs.
Tuesday’s win put the Leopards over the .500 mark for the first time in nearly two years, but a two-game overnighter in the Dallas metroplex on Thursday and Friday gave Temple another opportunity to improve.
And they were tested. Mightily.
The Leopards’ first opponent on the trip was against Dallas College North Lake in Irving.
It was an intense battle, with TC winning the first and third games, and North Lake winning the second and fourth tilts. The fifth game was pushed to the 15-point mark, with the Leopards reaching first for the fifth, and deciding, game victory.
The scores of the match were 25-13, 16-25, 25-22, 25-27 and 15-13.
Temple registered 47 kills and 147 attacks to go with 69 digs, 48 assists and 12 aces.
Tucker led the way up front with 13 kills and 11 digs, with Lewis notching 10 and Mia Dunaway with nine. Flores had 27 assists, and McKinley Cole added 19 assists along with 13 digs. Pauline Gonzales led the Leopards with 19 digs.
The Leopards made their way into Dallas on Friday to take on DC Richland.
Temple showed resiliency and persistence, down two games to none, when they scored 50 of 85 points to even the match and took the Thunderducks to a fifth game. The Leopards continued to battle and eventually came up with the two-point minimum margin in the final stanza to beat Richland.
The scores of the match were 21-25, 19-25, 25-15, 25-17 and 19-17.
The Leopards’ hard work on the court generated 73 digs, 57 assists, 57 kills and 24 block assists.
Tucker was the kill leader for TC in the match with 14. Lewis, Morgan, and Carpenter each had nine kills, and Lexi Manning logged eight. Flores posted 45 assists and 14 digs, Ally Jowers led with 16 digs, and Lewis had eight block assists.
Temple improved to 5-2 overall, their best start since the 2013 campaign when the Leopards started 5-1.
ABOUT TEMPLE COLLEGE
Temple College is “Your Community’s College,” a dynamic and growing community college that equips thousands of Central Texas students with the knowledge and skills for 21st-century success. Temple College, which has campuses in Temple, Hutto and Taylor, offers more than 75 degree and certificate programs to students who seek to earn credits for transfer, graduate with an associate degree or complete a certificate for fast entry into the workforce.
Founded in 1926, Temple College has enjoyed a reputation for academic excellence for 98 years. It is nationally recognized for its exceptional programs, from visual and performing arts to competitive athletics. The College has become one of the state’s premiere institutions for healthcare providers’ education and training, advanced manufacturing, and workforce development programs. The faculty and staff are committed to providing exceptional quality instruction.