No. 1 The Master's needed just three sets to take down No. 8 Westcliff Wednesday 25-18, 25-18, 25-17 in the team's home opener in The MacArthur Center.
The Mustangs (3-0) hit .469 for the match while holding the Warriors to .216. TMU led in kills (45-27), aces (2-0) and blocks (5-2).
"I thought our offense was really efficient tonight," said TMU Head Coach
Jared Goldberg. "Our setters did a great job distributing the ball and putting our hitters in good situations, and our passers gave us the first touch we needed to stay in system."
TMU never lost a lead in the first two sets, building up a 7-point lead in the first set and the same in the second. In each set, the team used runs of 7-0 in the middle of the first and 5-0 in the middle of the second to open up their insurmountable leads.
In the third set, Westcliff opened up three separate 1-point leads. But after the Warriors took a 4-3 advantage, The Master's went on a 9-3 run to go up 12-7. The teams traded scores before the Mustangs pulled away at the end to get the 8-point set win and the 3-0 match victory.
"When we're able to establish a rhythm early and spread the offense, we become really tough to defend," Goldberg said. "Credit to our guys for staying disciplined, making good decisions, and executing at a high level. Westcliff is a well-coached team that plays hard, so we knew we had to be sharp. I'm proud of the way we competed, but we'll get back to work and keep building."
Will Avera finished with 12 kills in 13 attacks for a .923 hitting percentage.
Braden Van Groningen had nine kills and hit .615, followed by both
Isaac Seltzer and
Ezra Vlad getting eight kills.
Matthew Hamm dished 33 assists while Van Groningen led the team with four blocks. Libero
Preston Schmidt paced the defense with 11 digs.
The Master's will travel to the Bay Area this weekend for a pair of matches. First they will play former GSAC foe Menlo College on Friday night in Atherton, Calif. at 6 p.m. Then on Saturday they will take on NCAA Division I power Stanford in Maples Pavilion at 6 p.m.
