Mustangs' magical run ends in GSAC Championship

Master's Men's Volleyball will have to wait at least another year for its first-ever Golden State Athletic Conference title.
 
TMU's magical run in its inaugural postseason appearance came to a halt in Saturday's conference championship defeat to No. 3 Ottawa University Arizona (23-25, 18-25, 17-25), a day after an impressive five-set upset win over No. 2 Vanguard University.
 
"They played really well," Master's Head Coach Jared Goldberg said of OUAZ. "We hit a really high percentage yesterday against Vanguard. We weren't able to sustain that, make those same plays and execute the same way. Our middles went off yesterday and they clearly knew that and were focused in on that.
 
"They made some great touches up at the net with their block and made some plays defensively. They had a new libero step in tonight who played really well. We tested him from the service line but he was hanging in there. They played really solid."
 
TMU started the match with a more than respectable .321 attack %, but that decreased to .156 and .114 over the next two sets. Meanwhile, OUAZ increased its hitting % in each successive set – from .242 to .348 to .440.
 
"Our serve and pass game yesterday I felt was the best that we've had this year and today was back below average," Goldberg said. "We just couldn't pass and stay in system. They're a big blocking team, so whenever we're out of system it's pretty hard to score."
 
Master's held leads early in every set but was unable to keep pace with OUAZ.
 
With an 8-6 lead in the first set, the Spirit went on a 4-0 run that helped the tournament's second seed take an advantage that was later extended to five at 18-13.
 
TMU fought back to tie the set at 22-22 before a kill and service ace gave OUAZ set point. Brett Norkus' kill saved the first of two set points, but the Spirit responded to take the opening stanza.
 
A kill from Trent Norkus then gave the Mustangs a 7-6 advantage in the second, only for three-straight OUAZ service aces to cap-off a 4-0 streak that allowed the Spirit to take firm control of the set.
 
Master's got no closer than two the rest of the way, as OUAZ put the Mustangs on the brink of a three-set sweep, which the Spirit completed with a similarly commanding third set.
 
In the third, Kevin Moore's service ace put TMU ahead 7-6 before a Brett Norkus kill restored the Mustangs' lead at 8-7, only for OUAZ to go on a 6-0 run as part of a 9-1 streak that put the set out of reach.
 
Master's continued to battle, with three-straight points bringing TMU to within five, but the Spirit thwarted any comeback attempt to claim the conference tournament title after sharing the regular season championship with Vanguard.
 
Ben Herb led the Mustangs with 13 kills as the team's most consistent offensive weapon. He was one of five TMU seniors who helped Master's make massive strides in its third year as a program, posting double-digit wins and being nationally ranked for the first time.
 
"The seniors Ben Herb, Kevin Moore, Brett Norkus, Wyatt Bates and Brock Gardner did a great job this year and helped this program continue to take steps forward," Goldberg said. "A big thank you to them and I said that to them right after in the locker room. It's obviously pretty emotional for some of them knowing it's their last game."
 
As disappointing of an ending to a remarkable season as Saturday night was, the future is incredibly bright for Master's, who finished the season with a 13-11 overall record.
 
"We're bringing in some big pieces and returning some big pieces," Goldberg said. "Most importantly, I think guys will start to turn their heads toward training for next season. Our practice gym is going to continue to get more competitive as we bring in more talent and depth."