The TMU Women's Volleyball season came to a crushing end on Saturday afternoon in Salem, Oregon with a four-set loss (16-25, 25-20, 13-25, 22-25) to No. 13 Corban University in the NAIA Women's Volleyball Opening Round.
"Even though our season ended earlier than we hoped, our team should be proud of themselves," Master's head coach
Annett Davis said. "At the beginning of this season I don't know how far they believed they could come, and yet they made it to nationals."
An
Emilye Grace Williams kill, one of four she recorded in the first set, helped Master's start the match quickly to take an early 3-1 lead. However, Corban quickly tied the set before taking its own advantage, extending it to 16-10, prompting a Mustang timeout.
The delay in action appeared to have the desired effect, with
Faith Tarver immediately tallying a kill when play resumed, but six-straight Warrior points put the opening set out of reach.
The Mustangs scored four of the final five points in the opening set to seemingly give TMU some momentum, but Corban took it right back with three consecutive points to begin the second set.
The Warriors extended their lead to as many as four at 14-10 and were able to keep TMU at bay for the first three times that the Mustangs got to within one point. However, it was the fourth time that Master's reduced its deficit to one that proved to be the charm for TMU.
Trailing 16-18,
Katie Emmerling and
Emily Scott began a late-set block party for the Mustangs that helped spark TMU's turnaround.
A Corban service error helped Master's get to within one for the fourth time in the second set, before Emmerling's second service ace of the set tied the second frame at 19 apiece. A Warrior attacking error then gave TMU its first lead of the set, which was extended by a Scott and
Madi Maitland block.
Scott then combined with Williams to deny Corban at the net before a quick set from Emmerling to Scott gave the Mustangs set point. Maitland took advantage of that opportunity with a thunderous kill to tie the match at a set apiece.
TMU took a 4-3 advantage in the third, but another 6-0 Corban run helped the Warriors regain control. A Maitland kill ended the streak to reduce Corban's lead to four, but that was as close as Master's would get the remainder of the set before the home side took back its overall match advantage with a 12-point victory in the third.
"Corban had a good team," Davis said. "They were definitely a challenge. Unfortunately, we had too many ups and downs and our team wasn't firing on all cylinders."
Master's came out swinging to begin the fourth, going ahead 4-0 with kills from Scott and Maitland, followed by consecutive service aces from Emmerling. The impressive serving from the Golden State Athletic Conference Player of the Year was contagious, with aces from Scott and
Kinzi Lockhart extending TMU's lead up to six, 11-5.
Corban fought back, however, scoring 11 of the next 16 points to take its first lead of the fourth set. Master's answered right back with three kills combined from
Cora Machado and
Ruby Duncan, helping to restore the Mustangs' lead, 20-18.
The Warriors scored the next two points after a Corban timeout to tie the fourth. A service error then briefly gave TMU back its advantage, but that turned out to be its last. The Warriors then scored four-straight points, with the help of two service aces and the rafters inside C.E. Jeffers Sports Center, to give themselves match point.
With the fourth-set score 23-21 in favor of Corban, a Williams attack was seemingly destined to result in a kill but the Warriors' dig attempt pinballed off the rafters, helping Corban keep the ball alive and ultimately earn the home side match point.
A Corban service error kept TMU's hopes of a comeback alive, but the Warriors took those hopes away with a kill to book its ticket to Sioux City, Iowa among the final 24 teams in the NAIA.
Williams recorded 11 kills to lead the Mustangs, with Maitland also contributing eight. Emmerling's four service aces and 27 service aces led all players.
Karli Stults tallied the most digs for TMU with 21, while Williams (18) and Emmerling (12) also registred double-digit digs. Scott and
Jessi Swenning tied for a team-high with three total blocks each.
Master's finishes the season with a 10-4 record and a GSAC East Division title, which has Davis excited for next season.
"I am proud of this group and the work they put in this season," Davis said. "We have a lot of talent and we will come into next year even hungrier."
