Vanguard University hoped to give a proper sending off to "The Pit", the school's longtime gymnasium that will be demolished this summer.
The Mustangs were having none of it.
In its first-ever postseason match in program history, No. 11 TMU Men's Volleyball upset No. 2 Vanguard in the Golden State Athletic Conference semifinals in five sets (24-26, 25-23, 17-25, 25-16, 15-9) to advance to Saturday's championship.
To do so, Master's had to overcome deficits of one-set-to-none and two-sets-to-one.
"We just got on a run and started making plays," Master's Head Coach
Jared Goldberg said. "We got them a little out of rhythm. Our servers had confidence to go back there and get after it a little more.
"We did great on the passing side in their gym, which has been a tough thing for every single team they've played at home all year. With those low-ceilings and their big-arm servers, it's really tough.
"All four of our passers in
Diego Perez,
Wyatt Bates,
Braden Van Groningen and
Ben Herb did a great job passing against I think the best serving team in the country."
The Mustangs could have easily been discouraged after losing a tightly-contested opening set in a hostile environment, and dropping the third set by eight points, but found it within themselves to muster an impressive comeback against the tournament's top seed.
"The guys rallied," Goldberg said. "It was an easy game to get up for."
Vanguard claimed the opening set despite Master's holding a late lead.
"In that first set we were up 21-19, then they went on a three-point run and were all-of-a-sudden up 22-21," Goldberg said.
With the Lions holding set point up 24-22, a
Will Avera kill and Van Groningen service ace tied the set, only for two Mustang attacking errors to give the home side the opening stanza.
"Against a really good team like that, you have to finish the close sets," Goldberg said. "Those are the sets that will be crucial as we continue to go forward."
The Mustangs managed to turn the tides in the second set.
"We were able to stay steady and not give up those two-or-three point runs that can be the difference maker," Goldberg said.
Helping TMU's cause was productive play from its bench, with the Mustangs' depth on full display.
"Braden did a great job coming off the bench," Goldberg said. "We played a lot of different guys. At one point the ref said I was out of subs. He forgot that in the NAIA it's unlimited subs. It was a game of chess there a little bit."
With the score tied at 23-23 in the second set, Master's took advantage of a Vanguard service error before Herb's kill evened the match at one set apiece.
For as competitive as the first two sets were, Vanguard ran away with the third and had one foot in the door of Saturday's GSAC Championship.
Then came the words of
Ryan Fooks inspiring his team in-between sets.
"This is for all the hill runs, for all the hard work we've put in," the junior middle blocker urged on his teammates.
The Mustangs used that motivation to play inspired volleyball in the fourth and fifth, committing just a single attacking error over the final two sets, including none in the fourth.
Leading 14-13 in the fourth, TMU went on a 5-0 run, bookended by a pair of Van Groningen kills, to take control of the set.
Johnny Buchanan's service ace then sent the match to a deciding fifth set, during which Master's never trailed.
Holding a 4-3 advantage, two
Brett Norkus kills sparked a 4-0 run that gave the Mustangs a commanding lead. Buchanan turned from provider to attacker with a pair of kills of his own, giving TMU match point at 14-7.
After the Lions scored twice, prompting a Mustang timeout, Herb's kill officially booked TMU's ticket to the GSAC Championship.
Leading the way offensively for Master's were middle blockers Norkus (career-high 16 kills) and Avera (12 kills), who hit an impressive .800 and .474 respectively.
"Brett and Will were untouchable tonight," Goldberg said. "Our middles were really in rhythm. Johnny did a great job of getting them going, but they also did a great job of putting balls away. Brett and Will just really opened things up."
Buchanan dished out a match-high 48 assists, while
Diego Perez (career-high 17 digs) and Van Groningen (career-high four service aces) also led all players in those respective categories.
"We've talked all year about our goal of making it to the NAIA Tournament," Goldberg said. "This is a big step toward that."
One match separates TMU from achieving its goal of continuing its first-ever trip to the postseason in hopes of reaching its first-ever national tournament.
Fourth-seeded Master's will take on second-seeded OUAZ, the NAIA's third-ranked team, in Saturday's conference title game with the GSAC's automatic berth into the NAIA National Championships on the line. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Costa Mesa.
