But that doesn’t make it any easier to take.
A night after the Tem-Cats opened the season with a five-game win at Class 4A No. 6-ranked Waco Midway, Temple was swept Tuesday night at Wildcat Gym, losing 25-15, 27-29, 23-25, 25-20, 16-18 to Waller and 25-19, 14-25, 20-25, 23-25 to Liberty Hill.
After the big win at Midway, Temple (1-2) was too inconsistent to build off the momentum against 4A Waller and 3A Liberty Hill.
“I think the thing that’s hurting us most right now is mental lapses,” Temple coach Susie Hughlett said. “We seem to do the same thing every single game.”
The Tem-Cats were solid in the first game against Waller, using a 10-2 run to close it out for the win. Temple needed just a point in the second game for a 2-0 lead over the Lady Bulldogs.
With the Tem-Cats leading 24-17, one of those mental lapses cost them dearly.
The Lady Bulldogs reeled off seven straight points to tie the game at 24, then scored eight of the next 10 to tie the match.
After losing a close third game, the Tem-Cats got back to form in the fourth, pulling away midway through the game with a quick 3-0 run started by a Kacie Easley kill.
But those mental lapses cost Temple again in the deciding fifth game, with Waller scoring five of the last seven points to win the match.
Senior middle hitter Jordan Pickett led the Tem-Cats in the first match with five aces, 27 assists, 16 kills and nine digs. Fellow senior Patti Kabobel had 14 kills. Kacie Easley had 10 kills and 14 digs, and Emily Vasek had 20 assists and six digs
“That’s what started the whole mental lapse conversation,” Hughlett said of the loss to Waller. “It’s almost like (Monday) we were playing to win and today we were playing not to lose.”
After that talk in between matches, the Tem-Cats responded in the first game against Liberty Hill.
Temple jumped out to an early 7-1 lead thanks to a kill and ace by Kabobel and cruised to take the first game.
The Lady Panthers then took control of the match, cruising to wins in the second and third games.
Temple had an 11-10 lead in the third game but allowed seven straight points, including three on four-hit violations.
Liberty Hill took a close last game to finish out the match.
In the second match, Pickett once again led the team with aces, 24 assists, 12 kills and five digs. Kabobel had nine kills and three digs. Easley had 11 kills and 12 digs to go with two aces. Vasek had 19 assists and seven digs. Kaitlin Muniz had five kills.
Hughlett said the Tem-Cats’ biggest problem was a lack of aggression.
“We get tippy and roll-shotty . . . then it hits the top of the net because they’re trying to be careful,” she said. “That’s when they have to push through and that’s when they have to want to win.
“You can’t win games by tipping and roll-shotting. You have to want to hit the ball on the floor.”
Hughlett stressed that more important than wins and losses this early in the season is simply improving.
And that might mean taking some hits early. But she’s willing to live with that if it makes her team better in the end.
“Experience is going to be our enemy,” Hughlett said. “I don’t think it’s because they weren’t trying, they weren’t hustling. But I think, right now, inexperience is what’s going to hurt us the most.”
Temple will travel to a three-team, three-day tournament in Saginaw on Thursday.
