The Temple College Leopards hosted the Vernon College Chaparrals in their second meeting of the 2025 season, this time in a North Texas Junior College Athletic Conference contest Wednesday night at Kirby Johnson Court.

Building on the momentum from matches against Southwestern Christian College and No. 3 Weatherford College, the Leopards continued to capitalize on opportunities afforded by good communication in their offensive system and excellent defensive play.

However, the few mistakes that the Leopards did make the opportunistic Chaps turned into points, and were able to parlay into a 3-1 match win over TC.

Scores of the match were 25-23. 20-25, 25-18, and 25-19.

It was a stark contrast from their match on Aug. 23 at the Western Texas Classic in Snyder, where Vernon swept the Leopards, 3-0, by scores of 25-11, 25-11, and 25-12.

Temple jumped out to a 12-3 lead in game one, with Kharma Brown and Lana Wright combined for six kills, Sarah Rodriguez had two aces, and Abbie Soileau added an ace.

The Chaparrals nudged their way back into the game with a steady dose of Karina Perez assists and Iyahna Hibbler kills. Vernon evened the game on a 13-4 stretch.

The Leopards took a 21-18 lead before the Chaps took the lead with four straight points. The teams traded the lead twice before Vernon ended the game on an ace by Bre Featherston.

Temple took what they learned from game one and applied it immediately in game two. Grace Schneider and Karlie McCauley combined for four kills early in the second stanza, as the Leopards took a seven-point lead mid-set, 18-12.

Vernon clawed their way back to a four-point differential, before Schneider and Wright delivered consecutive kills to end the game, and even the match at a game apiece.

Game three featured a good start by the Leopards, having established an 11-6 advantage. Vernon snapped back with an 7-2 stretch of their own to tie game at 13-13.

The Chaps were able to establish the system around their side of the court and mounted a 12-5 finish to the game. Hibbler, Ryleigh Haynie, Tania Penn, Trinity Williams, and Brianna Moreno dropped kills on the Temple side of the court to fuel the run, and gave Vernon a 2-1 lead in the match.

Game four was loaded with mini-runs, as both teams scored three straight points twice in the early stages.

Vernon established a 13-8 advantage before Temple's 6-0 run gave them a one-point lead, with McCauley, Schneider and Kenedee Pennington having contributed kills in the stretch.

The Chaps forced the Leopards into a couple of hitting errors that aided in their final 12-5 stretch to close out the match. Hibbler, Haynie, and Simone Pompa dropped in kills to contribute in the final run.

Temple had a conference season-high 70 digs, 49 kills, 44 assists, 13 blocks, and seven service aces.

Schneider led the Leopards in blocks with 13, and Brown added nine. Soileau had 25 assists and Karlee Williamson added 16. Hanna Ward had 15 digs, Williamson added 14, and Rodriguez chipped in 11.

The Leopards continue their three-match homestand on Saturday with their annual Pink Out Game on Saturday against Collin County Community College at 1 p.m.