Lady Mustangs stay in 1st with 3-set win

Grace Colburn had 19 kills in three sets to lead The Master's University's women's volleyball team to a 25-19, 25-18, 25-22 win over Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Tueday night in The MacArthur Center.

Colburn averaged 6.3 kills per set while hitting .424 in the match.

As a team, the Lady Mutangs (12-5, 6-1) hit .360, out-paced the Eagles in kills (52-35) and blocks (9-4). ERAU, however, had the advantage in service aces at 5-3.

"We had a solid match in every position," said TMU Head Coach Annett Davis. "We played smart and aggressively. It seems we are back on track."

TMU gets this win after coming off a 5-set loss to Benedictine Mesa in Arizona last Friday. 

The Master's controlled the first set from the start, rattling off five straight points to go up 5-0 before ERAU scored a point. The Eagles were able to fight back and get to within two at 13-11, but TMU scored four straight points to stretch the margin to six. But Embry-Riddle fought back, tying the set at 19-19, before TMU scored the final six points to win the set.

The second set started better for the Eagles as they worked a 3-2 lead. But the Lady Mustangs went on a 10-2 run to go up 12-5. The teams traded scored until TMU grabbed three in a row to get their biggest lead of the set, 21-13, before riding the wave to close out the set with the seven-point win.

The third set Embry-Riddle was able to show their fight, working the lead to 10-8. But again, it was TMU going on a run, this time 7-0 behind the serve of Timberlie Miller, to go up 15-10. The Lady Mustangs held off a late fight from ERAU to win the set 25-22 and claim the match.

After Colburn's 19 kills came Ruby Duncan with 14, Bella Amet with eight and McKenna Brady with seven. Miller had 38 assists in the 3-set match, an average of 12.6 per set, and led the team with 13 digs.Andrea Barrera had a team-high five blocks with Sierra Hale getting two of the three aces.

With the win TMU stays on top of the GSAC Women's Volleyball standings with seven matches remaining in the regular season.

The Master's will be back at home on Saturday night when they take on Life Pacific. Match starts at 6 p.m.