Men's Volleyball Opens Season Knocking Off No. 1 Grand View

The Master's men's volleyball team has put the country on notice as it defeated the two-time defending NAIA champion and No. 1 ranked Grand View University in three sets Friday night in Des Moines, Iowa.

The Mustangs (1-0), ranked No. 11 in the NAIA pre-season poll, hit .479 as a team, committing only five hitting errors over the entire match, winning each set 25-22, 25-19, 25-21.

Nolan Flexen led the Mustangs with 15 kills followed by fellow freshman Isaac Seltzer with 13. Setter Matthew Hamm, also a freshman, finished with 36 assists while senior Will Avera led the team with three blocks.

"The guys played really well offensively tonight and it was a great team win," said Head Coach Jared Goldberg. "As Grand View was really focusing on slowing down Nolan Flexen, Isaac Seltzer stepped up and was tough to slow down. Grand View did a good job putting pressure on us from the service line and it was a true test for our passers. We are looking forward to playing them again in a couple months in Santa Clarita."

The Master's trailed Grand View 14-10 in the first set before going on a 9-3 run to take a two-point lead. After the Vikings tied it at 19, the Mustangs scored six of the next eight points to claim the first set.

Just like in the first, the Mustangs fell behind in the second set 4-2 before going on another 9-3 run to grab an 11-7 lead. The Master's rode that cushion the rest of the set, never letting Grand View get closer than three, before claiming the six-point set win.

And just like the first two sets, Grand View grabbed an early 8-4 lead in the third, only to see TMU get seven of the next eight points to go up 11-9. The Mustangs would not relinquish the lead after that to take the third set 25-21 and claim the match.

The Master's had 40 kills compared to Grand View's 34, but the Vikings committed 15 hitting errors to finish the match hitting .235. The Mustangs also collected seven blocks over the Vikings' two.

The Mustangs will be back in action Saturday in Des Moines, this time taking on No. 5 William Penn (IA) at 9 a.m. PT.