Master's senior Jane Cisar was succinct in summing up what she liked about the Mustangs' performance at William Jessup on Saturday.
"We were able to adapt to their play well," she said, "and we didn't let a ton of runs go by."
Most importantly, The Master's University women's volleyball team didn't let the Warriors run off any more wins after the home team took set one.
The Mustangs rallied for a 3-1 win inside Warrior Arena, securing a berth in the Golden State Athletic Conference tournament in the process and ending their visit to Northern California on a positive note.
Master's, currently the GSAC's fifth-place team, lost 3-0 to Menlo College on Friday night but returned to better form in a commanding win over Jessup. Cisar had 14 kills and seven total blocks, Katie Emmerling had 41 assists, and the Mustangs held the Warriors to diminutive hitting percentages in the night's final two sets leaving coach Allan Vince impressed with his team's turnaround.
"I liked that the middles took pride in their ability to kill the ball with authority in transition," Vince said, praising Cisar and Emily Scott, who had seven kills. "I liked that our servers had confidence in placing their aces well in corners. I liked seeing Katie Emmerling have confidence in her hitters, allowing our offense to be versatile. And I liked that we brought the passion today."
The Mustangs appeared to get stronger as the match progressed. Master's won the final three sets by scores of 25-19, 25-17 and 25-11. The Warriors hit .028 and -.045 in the night's final two frames with Master's producing 13 kills and just one error in set four.
"We stopped making unforced errors, both on the service line and as hitters, and began blocking with more aggressive hands," said Vince, whose team compiled 15 total blocks. "Once our block was established, we were able to defend Jessup with more confidence, allowing us to have more scoring opportunities in system."
Emilye Grace Williams had a career-high 13 kills for TMU, which will wrap up the regular season at home next weekend against Ottawa University Arizona and Arizona Christian.
