Mustangs raise their standard in victory

The Master's University women's volleyball team picked up a crucial Golden State Athletic Conference victory at Life Pacific on Tuesday night to remain tied atop the GSAC East standings, 3-1 (27-25, 21-25, 25-20, 25-14).
 
"Tonight our girls had to decide if they were going to just go with the status quo or if they were going to raise the standard," Master's head coach Annett Davis said. "They decided to raise the standard."
 
With TMU trailing 13-16 in the first set, the Mustangs went on two 4-0 runs with a 4-0 Life Pacific run sandwiched in between. An Emilye Grace Williams kill gave the Mustangs set point, only for the Warriors to score twice to set up their own set point. However, Master's took the final three points, clinched by a Faith Tarver block to take the opening set.
 
In the second set, Life Pacific raced out to an early 5-1 lead, but Master's took seven of the next eight points to take an 8-6 advantage. The teams traded runs after that until the Warriors, holding a 19-18 lead, scored five-straight points to put the Mustangs on the brink. After three TMU points, a Master's attacking error gave Life Pacific the second set.
 
The Mustangs turned back the tide in the third set, going ahead 9-3. Life Pacific scored the next four points to get to within two, but that was the closest the home side would get, as TMU led for the remainder of the set.
 
Master's left no doubt in the fourth set, scoring the first five points of the set. The Mustangs' lead then extended up to 11, their final margin of victory.
 
"Balls that would drop on us in the previous matches, our girls decided that it wasn't okay anymore," Davis said. "We did a fabulous job on defense."
 
Williams led the Mustangs with 14 kills, while Jessi Swenning and Madi Maitland added 11 and eight kills respectively. Emily Scott had four blocks, with Katie Emmerling and Tarver each tacking on three of their own.
 
Karli Stults recorded 22 digs, while Williams had 21 and Tarver added 16. Emmerling orchestrated the offense with her 32 assists.
 
The two teams will conclude their GSAC regular seasons against each other Wednesday night at 7 p.m. in San Dimas. Master's (9-2 overall, 7-2 GSAC) is tied with Ottawa University Arizona (9-5, 7-2) atop the GSAC East standings heading into the final round of conference play.

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