The Master's men's volleyball team, ranked No. 1 for the second week in a row in the NAIA, opened Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC) play with a three-set win over Hope International Friday night in The MacArthur Center.
The Mustangs (9-1, 1-0) were pushed by the Royals from the start, getting a 26-24 win in the first set, followed by a 25-20 in the second and 25-20 in the third.
"We have to understand that as a No. 1 team, (opponents) are going to be playing their best against us," said TMU Head Coach
Jared Goldberg. "Hope played very well and pushed us. They passed well and ran an offense off some tough serves. So a lot of credit to them."
TMU hit over .300 in all three sets, finishing with a .326 hitting percentage. They had more kills than HIU (40-26) and blocks (8-4), with both teams serving up a pair of aces.
The Royals hit .069 and were forced into 20 hitting errors.
Braden Van Groningen led the Mustangs with 11 kills and hit .556 with just one hitting error.
Diego Perez finished with 10 kills while
Patrick Paragas dished 24 assists.
The Master's will have a quick turnaround as they will travel to Costa Mesa Saturday to take on the defending NAIA National Champions -- the Vanguard Lions. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Calvary Chapel High School.
"Now we are getting ready for another tough match against Vanguard," Goldberg said.
The Mustangs lost to the Lions in the national semifinals last season.
