The Master's University women's volleyball team started 2018 in a good place: in shape and in constant, open communication.
Head coach
Allan Vince has been meeting individually with five upperclassmen on a weekly basis since the spring, hoping to build trust and empower them to lead on the court, where things at times went sideways in an 11-17 campaign that nonetheless ended in last year's Golden State Athletic Conference tournament.
One of those players, senior setter
Kayla Sims, highlighted another positive as TMU prepares to open its season Wednesday at the Hope Summer Slam in Fullerton, Calif.: her team arrived on campus in better shape than in the past.
"A lot of times we have to do more fitness stuff," she said. "Last week we got into volleyball right away and picked up where we left off."
Where Sims left off was with 2,072 career assists, or roughly 1,100 less than TMU's all-time program record, a mark she says she's shooting for.
She'll again be looking for junior
Jane Cisar, last year's kill leader, at opposite hitter, with six Mustangs competing for time outside. Sophomore
Madi Fay and junior
Regan Tate are the most established of the bunch, with Fay expected to fill a utility role. She can play outside or opposite. "Madi is a beast of a blocker," Vince said.
Tate came on late in the year, the fiery outside hitter reaching double digit kills in five of her final six matches.
Rebecca Davis,
Kylie Brown and freshmen
Chloe Emory and
Emilye Grace Williams also figure to be in the mix on the outside, with senior
Emily Curtin a factor at opposite.
In the middle, the team graduated three-time All-GSAC pick
Morgan Koch, but shouldn't see much of a downturn in terms of blocking. That's because
Autumn Stevens and
Rissah Lozano make a formidable pair.
Behind those two, TMU is led by all-conference-caliber libero
McKenna Hafner and defensive specialist
Mackenzie Delo, both juniors. "Those two are pretty legit," said Vince, whose focus since last season has been on building culture through communication.
"We discuss our goals. We discuss potential problems, things that are going well, things that can be improved on," the fifth-year coach said. "We have pretty open discussion so when we start getting into weekend matches, I have a core leadership group that can bring a coach's presence to the court and motivate the girls so that there's unity."
This, Vince said, helps him trust that his players will carry out his vision, while, also, bolstering their trust in his decision-making.
"That builds conviction," Vince said. "The more they buy into the idea that what I'm saying is helping them, then they reiterate that to the rest of the girls."
And, as a result, the team pulls together rather than falls apart when something goes wonky in a conference road game in late October.
The ability to handle those situations also comes with experience. Something this group has more of this time around.
"Last year, we were a young team," Cisar said. "So I think this year, having that extra experience is really going to help us push forward and hopefully do a lot better than we did last season – like going to nationals and winning conference."
To do that, the Mustangs will have to contend with teams like Vanguard University, Hope International and, of course, perennial-power Westmont College, which earned nine of 10 first-place votes in the preseason coaches poll. But Vince doesn't think his squad is as far off as it might appear. Master's was picked fourth (tied with Hope).
"I'd say realistically we're looking at a top-three finish," Vince said. "When it comes down to the conference tournament, I feel like we've taken Westmont very close to 25 (points) multiple times. What it takes in the end is that extra drive and desire to win. Our goal is to create a drive to win."
Something he's undoubtedly communicated to his team.
