They knew it was going to be a tough match.
The Southern Oregon Raiders were ranked No. 10 on the NAIA Preseason Women's Volleyball Poll.
And they played like it.
The Master's women's volleyball team did not go down without a fight, losing to the Raiders in three sets 21-25, 15-25, 23-25 in the team's second match of the Hope Summer Slam in Fullerton, Calif. Friday.
The Lady Mustangs (2-1) were held to a season-low .105 hitting percentage, but held SOU to just .245. However, the Raiders had 45 kills to the Mustangs 24.
"SOU was our first test of the season," said TMU Head Coach Annett Davis. "They are a legitimate top 10 team with a lot of firepower. It was a tough, fun match to see where we stack up."
TMU never let the first set get beyond a 6-point deficit before succumbing 25-21.
In the second set, the Raiders showed their strength. After a kill by
Ruby Duncan and an attack error by Southern Oregon brought the score to 11-8 SOU, the Raiders went on a 14-7 run to close out the set in dominance.
But the Lady Mustangs showed they came to play when five points in a row gave TMU an 8-5 lead in the third. Moments later, after getting to 13-10 and keeping that 3-point advantage, the Raiders called a timeout. That sparked a fire as Southern Oregon went on a 13-5 run to take back the momentum and eventually finish off the match with a 25-21 third-set win.
Duncan finished with a team-high 12 kills.
"For not playing on all cylinders we hung in there," Davis said. "I am truly excited to see how our team will shape up. We have a lot of big tests coming up."
The Master's will finish off the tournament, hosted by Hope International, with a pair of matches on Saturday. First will be against Oregon Tech at 10 a.m. followed by Providence Christian at 2 p.m.
