Mustangs win home opener over Warriors

The Master's men's volleyball team, ranked No. 1 in the NAIA, defeated the Westcliff Warriors in four sets Wednesday night in the home opener at The MacArthur Center
 
The Mustangs (7-1), having played their first seven matches on the road, hit .316 in the 25-18, 25-17, 22-25, 25-16 victory.
 
"It was great to finally play a home match after being on the road for the first few weeks of the season," said TMU Head Coach Jared Goldberg. "The atmosphere was great to start the match and our team really appreciated how many students showed up and were actively involved."
 
Tough serving by TMU kept Westcliff off balance most of the night. The Mustangs served up 10 aces against just one by the Warriors. The Master's also had more kills 49-37, but it was Westcliff that had more blocks (6-4).
 
The Mustangs jumped out to a quick lead and never looked back in every set but the third. In that frame, Westcliff opened up as much as a five-point lead, but after the Mustangs were able to come back and tie it at 20-20, Westcliff closed out the set with five of the next seven points to win by three.
 
In the fourth set, The Master's wasted little time re-establishing their dominance, jumping out to a 6-1 lead. TMU rode that cushion to get the nine-point set win and claim the match.
 
Braden Van Groningen finished with a team-high 11 kills followed by Isaac Seltzer with 10 and Cole Oliver with nine. Matthew Hamm came on in the second set to finish with 33 assists, an average of 11 per set. Oliver had his best match serving, finishing with four aces.
 
The Master's will be back in The MacArthur Center on Friday when they host the No. 4 Benedictine-Mesa (AZ) Redhawks, a team the Mustangs defeated on Feb 3 in four sets. The Redhawks have been the runner-up at the NAIA National Championship Tournament for each of the last three years. 
 
"We are looking forward to coming out again on Friday in our rematch against a really talented Benedictine team," Goldberg said.