Allan Vince did not intend to impart words of wisdom. In fact, The Master's University women's volleyball coach didn't speak at all during a late timeout in Wednesday's home non-conference match with La Sierra.
The Mustangs were not in danger of losing the match. But, when they allowed La Sierra to climb back into the night's final set – letting a five-point lead dwindle to two – Vince saw a teaching opportunity. It was a silent lesson, if you will.
"I wanted them to come together to see that a coach wasn't going to try to speak to them about motivation," Vince said. "It was (about) motivation in the end, and I can only encourage that so much until it comes from the leaders. The leaders took that timeout, and they sparked whatever they need to, and then they went out and did it together. Not for me or for Master's, but for each other."
Regan Tate slammed the final point to the floor, securing a 25-22 win in set three and lifting the Mustangs to a 3-0 sweep over the Golden Eagles.
Tate finished with a match-high 18 kills and just two errors, regularly displaying the power that has made her one of the Golden State Athletic Conference's most impactful outside hitters to this point.
The Mustangs (12-8) will return to GSAC play Saturday night at home against No. 17 Westmont College in a rematch of one of TMU's low points of the 2019 campaign. The Warriors swept Master's in Santa Barbara last month, but setter
Katie Emmerling, who finished with 35 assists Wednesday, believes the Mustangs have progressed significantly since then.
"I think our energy is better," said Emmerling, who was named GSAC Setter of the Week for the third time this season on Monday. "I think everyone is getting more and more confident with their abilities because everyone on the court has a job to do and everyone is fully capable of doing it. It's a matter of believing it and shaking off the past mistakes we made."
Emmerling also tallied six aces, one of which capped Wednesday's decisive scoring run. Â
The Mustangs trailed 21-14 in the second set before an 8-1 spurt evened the score. Tate had three kills and middle blocker
Emily Scott had two kills during the run, with Emmerling dropping in an ace to square things at 22-all.
An attack error by La Sierra and kills by
Madi Fay and Tate sealed the second set and set the table for TMU to end the match after three – and after Vince's silent timeout.
With Master's leading 24-22, Emmerling said the huddle's focus was on closing La Sierra out. Â
"We just needed to take care of business," she said, "put it away right then and there."
Said Tate, "The last timeout was about coming together as a team. We fought so hard for the past games. If we were going to win, we were going to have to pull on all of our strengths and just fight." Â Â
Tate's punctuation mark – which came off an Emmerling assist – lifted the Mustangs to their third straight win over the Golden Eagles (14-6). But the series has been much more competitive over the last few years.
Master's won each of its first seven meetings with La Sierra by 3-0 scores dating to 2011. But before Wednesday, the teams had split the previous four matchups, with the Golden Eagles winning on both visits to The MacArthur Center.
The Mustangs didn't let history repeat itself.
Jane Cisar finished with nine kills and Fay added seven.
McKenna Hafner totaled 11 digs.
For Tate, it was the 15th time in 20 matches this season she has finished in double figures for kills. She has reached that benchmark in each of the last five contests. Â
"She's very reliable," Emmerling said. "I can always go to her knowing she can put the ball away."
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