The Master's University women's volleyball team remembers its last trip to the Hope Summer Slam in Fullerton, Calif., and the negative impact four straight losses there had on the rest of an uneven season.
Wednesday inside Darling Pavilion proved to be a far different experience, as the Mustangs swept The Evergreen State College (Wash.) to complete a day in which it didn't drop a set.
Master's topped Evergreen by scores of 25-19, 25-20, 25-19, building on a win over Olivet Nazarene University (Ill.) earlier in the day and moving to 2-0 for the first time since 2012. Â
Jane Cisar once again paced Master's in kills with 11. It was the fourth time in the last five matches dating back to last season that she's led TMU in that category. She said Wednesday's wins confirmed what the team has seen in practice.
The squad looked much improved, she said, but "we didn't know how that would translate into actual games."
It translated loud and clear, the Mustangs ending the opening set with Evergreen on a 6-2 run to create breathing room. It was the second time in one day that Master's showed a knack for closing sets that eluded it a year ago. Olivet Nazarene took a 20-19 lead late in set three of the teams' match, but the Mustangs rallied to finish the sweep.
"We called them into a timeout," Vince said, "and that's what we communicated, 'Don't let anything deter you from the goal.' The goal for today was to come together after every play, no matter what the outcome was, and have a next-ball mentality. It doesn't matter what happened on that last one, but together we move forward with a positive outlook."
The Mustangs kept Evergreen at arm's length in the final two sets.
Madi Fay tallied nine kills in the match for Master's, which will play La Sierra University (Riverside, Calif.) and Wayland Baptist University (Texas) on Thursday, the final day of the tournament.
Emily Curtin added eight kills, while
Regan Tate and
Autumn Stevens each had seven.
Cisar created problems for both of TMU's opponents from her spot as a middle blocker. Her 22 kills on the day came on a .500 hitting percentage.
"Jane in the middle has natural instincts," Vince said. "We tried her at opposite last year to grow her tool belt, and she's shown she can be an option in every situation. She's a great athlete with a high ceiling."
McKenna Hafner came up with 18 digs. It marked the 27th time in her last 29 matches that she reached double-digit digs.
Kayla Sims recorded 23 assists and
Sarah Park added 14 for Master's, which dropped its first four matches last year on the way to an 11-17 finish. Cisar said the start impacted the ending.
"I think it kind of set us off on a path of not being fully confident in how we can play and looking at everything after that as something that was harder than it actually was," she said. "We were kind of timid for the rest of the season. It didn't help our confidence."
Wednesday's start?
"It gives us a huge confidence boost," she said.
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