TMU Beats No. 5 WPU to go 2-0 in Iowa

Nolan Flexen had 15 kills and Diego Perez added 14 as No. 11 The Master's knocked off No. 5 William Penn University (IA) in three sets Saturday in Des Moines, Iowa.
 
The Mustangs (2-0) have yet to lose a set, taking care of the Statesmen 25-20, 25-17, 25-19.
 
"The team did a great job playing steady today throughout the match," said Head Coach Jared Goldberg. "Our outside hitters (Flexen and Perez) had a great matchup and were able to score very efficiently today."
 
That efficiency was once again on display as The Master's committed only eight attack errors compared to the Statemen's 17. In Friday's night's match against No. 1 Grand View, the Mustangs only committed five errors in the three-set sweep of the two-time defending NAIA national champions.
 
As a team The Master's hit .459 for the match, with 36 kills compared to WPU's 25. TMU also had more blocks (5-1) and more service aces (4-3).
 
"Our serving today was also fairly aggressive and helped our defense," Goldberg said. 
 
Setter Matthew Hamm finished with 29 assists and both Flexen and Will Avera were credited with 1.5 blocks.
 
The Master's will have their home opener this Friday as they host the UC Merced Bobcats. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. Then on Saturday, the Mustangs will welcome the Stanford Cardinal, ranked No. 7 in NCAA Division 1, into The MacArthur Center for a 1 p.m. match.
 
"We are looking forward to a couple more tough matches next weekend against UC Merced and Stanford back at home," Goldberg said.