For the Tem-Cats and Lady Tigers, tonight’s match is all about volleyball playoff positioning.

Temple (17-19, 3-4 District 12-15A) meets Belton (16-10, 5-2) at 6:30 p.m. today at Wildcat Gym in a critical match for the host Tem-Cats.

Temple needs to play its best volleyball of the year in the season’s final three weeks, starting with a win tonight, to get itself back in the 12-5A playoff picture.

The Tem-Cats sit two games behind second-place teams Belton, Bryan and Copperas Cove, leaving Temple on the outside of the district’s four playoff berths. College Station A&M Consolidated has a two-game lead atop the standings.

Tem-Cats coach Susie Hughlett said her team is approaching the final half of district play one match at a time.

“Our immediate goal is just to leave everything on the court,” she said. “The kids don’t quit, whether we’re winning or losing, and that’s a testament to them. Every game is important and we’re going to fight until the end.”

The Lady Tigers can move one step closer to a second straight playoff berth by completing a season sweep of the Tem-Cats.

“We aren’t underestimating Temple by any means,” Belton coach Justeen Patton said. “We know they’re a strong team, and they’ve had just as much time to get better as we have. I hope we go in with a lot of confidence having beaten them before.”

Belton swept Temple 25-13, 25-23, 25-21 to open district play last month at Tiger Gym.

Since that loss, the Tem-Cats have gone 3-3, playing three of those matches without leading attacker Jordan Pickett.

Not long after the loss to Belton, Hughlett said her team would play much better the second time around against the Lady Tigers.

“We still feel that way,” Hughlett said. “We’ve improved as of late. Getting (Pickett) back was a big lift, physically and emotionally.”

Temple has continued to improve during the district season, especially on offense.

The biggest thing Hughlett has had her team work on is speeding up its offense to keep teams off balance. It worked well in three straight wins over Harker Heights, Killeen Ellison and Killeen Shoemaker.

But in their three consecutive losses, the Tem-Cats won only one game.

Despite that statistic, Hughlett believes Temple carries some momentum from its loss to Cove on Friday night.

“I think when we played Cove, we left it all on the court,” she said. “That built our confidence up.”

Pickett has a team-high 325 kills (3.39 per game) and 326 assists (3.40). Senior Patti Kabobel has 242 kills (2.37), and setter Emily Vasek has 241 assists (3.30).

While Temple has played .500 volleyball since the last meeting, Belton has won four of its last five.

Included in that stretch is a key five-game win over Bryan, which is tied for second with the Lady Tigers in the district standings.

But the most costly match in that stretch was a loss to Cove. After that setback, Patton criticized her team for a lack of energy and fight.

“Cove was an eye-opener for us. I don’t think we were expecting to lose that one,” Patton said.

Since that loss, the Lady Tigers have reeled off three straight wins without dropping a game to Heights, Ellison and Shoemaker.

Senior Becca Owen and sophomore Grace Weaver both average a team-high 2.5 kills per game. Senior Myca San Miguel has a team-best 565 assists (6.6).

Both coaches realize what’s at stake tonight and what it could mean for the rest of the season.

Hughlett said she’s barely mentioned the word “Belton” to her team this week.

Patton said simply playing for a postseason spot would be motivation enough for her team.

“We’re playing Temple at Temple and I’m excited, but we need to be ready and bring our ‘A’ game,” Patton said.

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