In its first month of competition, The Master's University men's volleyball team has seen just about everything. And head coach
Allan Vince says he couldn't have asked for a better start.
"Playing some of the best teams in the country at home to start out, getting our first win in three sets to finish our homestand, followed by a five-game thrilling win on the road versus an international team has allowed us to view the full spectrum of competition," Vince said. "We've seen just what this team is made of."
The Mustangs beat CETYS Mexicali 15-13 in set five on Saturday morning at Mira Costa College in Oceanside, California, to take the match 3-2. In the afternoon, it swept the University of St. Katherine for the second time in seven days.
Wyatt Bates had 21 kills against CETYS – which is based in Baja California, Mexico – and 30 kills on the day.
Brett Norkus had 11 kills and
Ezra Moore had a season-high 42 assists in TMU's first match to go past three sets all season. Set scores against CETYS were 20-25, 25-19, 18-25, 25-23 and 15-13.
Bates said he appreciated the way the Mustangs (3-4) were able to capitalize on opportunities in their attack.
"In transition we were able to put the ball away, which was a huge momentum boost," he said. The same could be said of the come-from-behind win as a whole.
After Master's rallied from being down two sets to one, finally winning a dramatic set five on a
Ryan Fooks kill, the Mustangs took down St. Katherine's in short order. Set scores were 25-15, 25-21 and 25-16, and
Brandon Botdorf had nine kills.
Christjan Tallara had six kills and 11 digs, and Moore had 24 assists.
"We came off that five-set win on a high," Norkus said. "We just road that momentum through the St. Katherine match."
The day was a strong turnaround from Friday night when Master's lost to Hope International in Fullerton in three. With a short window of rest, the Mustangs came out Saturday and showed what Vince called "a drive to compete and win each point."
"We gave up very few runs and were able to create more scoring opportunities off of defensive touches," he said.
Against St. Katherine, the Mustangs focused on executing combination plays off of controlled digs and passes. They also wanted to excel from the service line, where Bates came up with six aces. Tallara tallied two.
The Mustangs hit a season-high .319 against the Firebirds.
"The greatest takeaway today was that no matter where we were in the game, the guys established what it means to be a Master's volleyball player and what kind of team we want to be known for," Vince said.
