No home court? No problem for the ‘road warrior’ Templeton High volleyball team

When vandals flooded the Templeton High School gym at the end of the last school year, the effect on the athletics program was far reaching.

Not only did it make end-of-year sports banquet planning difficult, but the repairs to the damaged gym floor stretched into this school year, leaving the girls volleyball team without a home court to start the season.

But the team, led by a crop of talented juniors, made the most of it. Templeton went 22-4 during the regular season and undefeated (14-0) in Los Padres League play, ending the season on a 15-game winning streak despite only playing six home games.

On Tuesday, the No. 2-ranked Eagles were back in front of a rowdy home crowd inside the remodeled gym to face Whittier in the first round of the CIF-Southern Section Division 6 playoffs.

There were some butterflies in the first game, but Templeton was able to settle down, fight off two game points and come away with a 3-0 win, 27-25, 25-11, 25-17.

The core group of juniors — led by Chyenne Rice and Lauren Reeves — has seen plenty of adversity and success playing together since eighth grade.

“I have seen this group since freshman, since eighth grade, and I knew there was talent in this class,” Templeton head coach Cameron Schaeffer said. “It was just a matter of would they be mature enough to be able to apply it in a big-game situation. This was a good test for us, especially right out of the gate.”

Reeves is the Eagles’ big hitter and leads the LPL with 290 kills and 76 aces this season. She had 15 kills against Whittier.

“She is a dynamic player,” Schaeffer said of Reeves. “With a younger team, passing isn’t always going to be there, so it’s good to have that outlet that you can depend on.”

Rice added nine kills to give her 161 on the season. Feeding the Eagles’ big hitters is junior setter Camryn Roth, who is averaging more than seven assists per game this season and had 28 against Whittier.

In the next round, Templeton (23-4, 14-0 Los Padres) will get back on the road for a trip to Montebello to take on Schurr (23-5, 10-0 Almont) in the second round.

“At times, I almost feel like going on the road is better for us just because we don’t have the pressure of trying to play well in front of our home crowd,” Schaeffer said. “We do well being able to go into another school and keep them down. We will see on Thursday. I think we are up to it.”

Prep Volleyball Playoff Roundup

Arroyo Grande 3, Buena 1

No. 8-ranked Arroyo Grande (23-4, 14-0 PAC 8) defeated Buena (25-11, 22-25, 25-22, 25-21) to advance to the second round of the Division 3 playoffs. The Eagles will go on the road to take on No. 9-ranked Yorba Linda in the second round Thursday.

Morro Bay 3, El Monte 1

Morro Bay (18-12, 10-4, Los Padres) will play the Archer School for Girls in Culver City in the second round of the Division 7 playoffs Thursday after coming from behind to take out El Monte (17-25, 25-16, 25-13, 25-17) on Tuesday.

Century 3, Nipomo 1

Rio Mesa 3, SLO High 0

Oaks Christian 3, Atascadero 0

This story was originally published November 1, 2017 at 4:15 PM with the headline "No home court? No problem for the ‘road warrior’ Templeton High volleyball team."