The Temple College Leopards Volleyball went into their home opener at Kirby Johnson Court on Monday night with hopes of a victorious start to a long week ahead.

Dallas College North Lake provided excellent opposition for the Leopards, as upset the defending National Christian College Athletic Association Div. III Champion Arlington Baptist University in their first win of the season last week.

The Leopards withstood a constant attack by the Blazers, with North Lake having captured the first two games. Temple weathered the storm, won the next two games to force a fifth game, and outlasted the Blazers in the final contest for the match win.

Scores of match were 22-25, 20-25, 25-14, 25-17, and 15-13.

The Blazers jumped out to an 8-3 lead in the opening game, with Katie Lloyd having converted an ace. The Leopards pulled to within three points when North Lake pulled out to an 11-point lead, 23-12.

TC battled back with a 10-1 run and fought off two game points before Kynlee Rion's ended game one with the Blazers having won by three.

The teams played evenly through the second game, with both teams having held three-point leads to the midpoint of the set when the game was tied at 15-15.

Sandy Cortes had two kills down the stretch for the Blazers, which were answered by a pair of kills by Kharma Brown.

North Lake scored five of final six points in the second game to take the win by five points.

Temple trailed 7-6 in the third game when the tide began to turn for the Leopards. Brown, Grace Schneider, Lana Wright, Yasmine Traore, XanZhae Grigsby, and Karlee Williamson all picked up kills in a 19-7 burst that brought the Leopards back into the match with the 12-point win.

The Leopards continued to pound the Blazers at the beginning of game four, as Schneider, Brown, Wright, and Sarah Rodriguez had kills, and Williamson and Hanna Ward had assists in a 20-10 start.

After the Blazers closed the game to within seven points, Rodriguez had back-to-back kills to help the Leopards close out game four by eight points and force a fifth and deciding game.

Kills by Brown, Rodriguez, and Schneider helped Temple out to a 6-3 lead. Hailey Pennison had two kills, and Rion added another as the Blazer used a 9-6 stretch to tie the game at 12-12. A North Lake service error was the first point of the final three points of the match for the Leopards as they completed the complete the comeback.

The Leopards improved to 3-2 on the year, while North Lake dropped to 1-1.

Temple College will travel to Beeville on Tuesday to take on Coastal Bend College.