Lady Mustangs crush Spirit to take GSAC tournament crown

The Master's University women's volleyball team won their second GSAC tournament title in a row on Saturday over Ottawa University of Arizona in Santa Clarita, Calif.

In the two games TMU has played the Spirit, they were locked in intense 5-set battles. However, Saturday was nothing of the sort as the Lady Mustangs rolled past OUAZ in straight sets, 25-14, 25-16, 25-21. 

TMU dominated, recording more kills, aces, blocks, assists and digs. Senior Isabella Amet had a team-high 11 kills and 18 digs. She also had four blocks, as did McKenna Brady.

The opening few minutes of the game were close with TMU pulling away around the 7-6 mark of the first set, thanks to a 7-1 run capped off by a Sierra Hale service ace. They continued to dominate, with a 7-2 run to finish the opening set, with Macy Gebhards and Kinsley Kollmann having five of those kills total. 

The second set was more of the same, with TMU scoring six straight times to gain the early lead. The Lady Mustangs kept the momentum rolling, scoring seven out of eight points around the midway mark of the set. Hale and Krista Brady continued to put OUAZ in bad situations with their serves. TMU won the second set on a 4-0 run with Kollmann again slamming the door with her set-sealing kill.

OUAZ rallied heading into the third set and pushed their lead to as much as five, at the 13-8 mark. But TMU continued to chip away, with more service aces from Hale and Amet. The Lady Mustangs took the lead at 17-16 and never looked back, with an OUAZ error giving TMU the tournament win. 

Kate Wagner had 31 assists as TMU totaled 7 service aces and 10 blocks overall. 

TMU will play next on Saturday in the opening round of the NAIA tournament, with time and location to be determined.