Mustangs fall in straight sets to Menlo

The Master's University women's volleyball team was looking for a sweep of the season series with Menlo.
 
Instead, the Oaks performed a sweep of their own, taking out the Mustangs 25-20, 25-19, and 25-23 Friday evening in Atherton.
 
The defeat dropped the Mustangs (9-6 GSAC, 15-11 overall) into a fifth-place tie with William Jessup in the conference with three matches left in the regular season.
 
One of those will be tomorrow afternoon when TMU plays at Jessup.
 
No more than three points separated the clubs in the first set until the Mustangs enjoyed two, four-point leads, 15-11 and 17-13, courtesy of kills from Jane Cisar.
 
That last advantage dissolved dramatically when the Oaks put together a decisive 12-3 run to close out the first set by five points.
 
After falling behind early in the second set, the Mustangs rallied to go in front 10-9.  Kills by Katie Emmerling, Cisar, and Rebecca Swenning punctuated a 5-0 run that gave the Mustangs a one-point lead.
 
Back came the Oaks, though, as they tore off six straight points to go up 15-10.  The Mustangs never got closer than three points the rest of the way and Menlo cruised to a six-point win.
 
The third set was the most tightly-played one of the evening although the Oaks never trailed after taking a 3-2 lead.
 
They created some separation, moving in front 10-5 only to see the Mustangs rip off four straight points to get within one.
 
But, the Mustangs just couldn't catch Menlo.
 
After the Oaks went up 20-14, two kills from Regan Tate sparked a 4-0 burst that pulled the Mustangs within two.
 
Down 24-21, the Mustangs used a Menlo attack error, caused by blocks from Cisar and Madi Fay, and another kill from Cisar to get within one.
 
However, the Oaks closed out the match on a service error.
 
Cisar paced the Mustangs with 10 kills, Emmerling had a team-high 20 assists, and McKenna Hafner tied for match-high honors with 15 digs.

Looking ahead to tomorrow, the Mustangs hope to even the season series with Jessup.  The Warriors beat the Mustangs three sets to one on October 4.,