No. 25 Master's rallies for road win over San Diego Christian

The feeling was familiar. Mackenzie Delo had the hot hand.

For the second match in a row, The Master's University senior rattled off a series of aces that helped propel No. 25 Master's to victory, this time 3-1 over San Diego Christian in La Mesa, California. 

Delo was at the service line for the entirety of a 6-0 Master's run that opened the door for a win in set two, distancing the Mustangs (9-7 overall, 4-2 in Golden State Athletic Conference) from a rocky start. 

Master's lost 25-20 to the Hawks (4-9, 0-6) in the night's opening set, but Delo's trio of aces — complemented by a Jane Cisar block and a Madi Fay kill — set the tone for the rest of the match. 

Set scores were 20-25, 25-19, 25-13 and 25-16. 

"I always go back to the line wanting to keep the momentum moving forward," said Delo, who delivered five aces in a six-point span against Life Pacific last weekend. "It feels great to get aces, but it's even better when the team is keeping me back there by making great defensive plays."

Mustang Regan Tate produced arguably her best performance of the season, totaling 17 kills against just two errors. She hit .417. 

Katie Emmerling compiled 43 assists and 12 digs. And Emilye Grace Williams tallied double-digit kills for the second time this season — and second time in her career — and hit .333. 

The Mustangs hit just .111 in the night's opening set, falling behind 7-1 and never leading. That led coach Allan Vince to insert Fay, who finished with eight kills, at opposite hitter and move Williams from opposite to outside hitter. 

Vince also attempted to refocus his club. 

"We reminded the ladies that we came here to play and so did San Diego," Vince said. "San Diego put up a good initial fight for game one, and we had to get back to basics of what we have been training, which has been: no ball hits the floor, attack block, and win from the service line with tough service."

Part of what drove the Mustangs in the night's final three sets was an understanding that they were capable of more than they showed in set one. 

"We were fired up after the loss because we knew we could and should do better," Tate said. "I think we did a really good job of shaking off the rust and finding our rhythm again, and once we got back to playing like Master's, we were able to have some fun with it."

Master's hopes to keep the fun going Saturday in an NAIA Top 25 matchup. The Mustangs will travel to Costa Mesa to take on No. 21 Vanguard University, which beat No. 17 Westmont College in five sets Friday. The match is set to start at 7 p.m.