Master's Aced Out of a Win by Lions

In a match that was dominated by aces and blocks, Master's women's volleyball fell on the short end of the score as they were defeated by the Vanguard Lions in four sets Saturday night in The MacArthur Center.
 
Neither team hit particularly well with Master's hitting.073 and Vanguard .048. However, the ace is what set the Lions apart this night as they landed 14 in the match compared to the Lady Mustangs four.

"Vanguard is a tough opponent," Master's Head Coach Annett Davis said. "Our girls never gave up. They worked hard to play as a unit. We needed a few more kills and a few less errors to shift the match to a win for us."

Vanguard took the first set 25-18 and then it was Master's grabbing the second by the identical score of 25-18. The next two sets were a series of runs by each team, with Vanguard running up to set point at 24-20. That's when Master's rattled off four straight to tie it at 24. It went back-and-forth before Vanguard was able to get the final two points to win the third set 27-25.
 
The fourth set was more of the same with Master's jumping out to a controlling lead, only to see the Lions roar back. Vanguard had several match points before finally putting it away 28-26 to get the win.
 
The Lady Mustangs showed why they are the best blocking team in the conference as they collected 12 blocks in the four sets. Both Emily Clark and Breanna Brooks were part of six blocks each, with Jessi Swenning part of five blocks.

"Jessi Swenning had a stellar senior night," Davis said. "She continued contributing to the team with her consistent hits and blocks."
 
On the offensive front, Faith Tarver had 10 kills followed by Swenning with eight. Karli Stults finished with 18 digs, which means she needs 21 more digs to move into the Top 10 in program history.

"I am proud of how the girls carried themselves throughout the match and am extremely proud of our senior's performance," Davis said. 
 
With the loss Master's is a half-game behind Menlo for the sixth and final spot in the post-season GSAC Tournament, and a full game behind OUAZ in fifth. The Lady Mustangs will finish the season next weekend with their final two matches on the road in Northern California. On Friday night Master's will play William Jessup in Rocklin starting at 5:30 p.m. And then on Saturday, what may be a match to determine the sixth spot in the post-season tournament, the Lady Mustangs will face Menlo in Atherton at 2 p.m.