The Master's beach volleyball team won their morning match but lost in the afternoon to improve their start to the season to 3-1 Thursday in Mesa, Ariz.
In the morning match, the No. 6-ranked Sandy Stangs defeated Park-Gilbert 5-0, not dropping a single set in all five matches.
The No. 1 pair of
Annika Gudnason and
Evi Roberts won 21-16, 21-14; No. 2 pair of
Faith Wada and
Zoe Yates came out on top 21-11, 21-11; No. 3s
Grace Colburn and
Violet Avila topped 21-5, 21-12; No. 4s
Ashlyn Unruh and
Isabela Rodriguez 21-8, 21-6; and No. 5s
Ellie Niehus and
Ellie Unruh 21-12, 21-10.
In the afternoon match, TMU lost to NAIA No. 1 OUAZ Spirit 1-4. The lone win coming from No. 1s Gudnason and Roberts who won in three 21-18, 20-22, 15-12. The other four pairs lost in two sets each.
"Our conference as a whole is tougher this year," TMU Head Coach
Annett Davis said. "Which is great news for us since our goal is to reach nationals. The girls fought hard today and fell short vs OUAZ. But as long as we learn from it, it's worth it. We don't expect to be perfect at this point. We're just starting and will continue to get better."
The Master's will be at home on Tuesday when they host the Hope International Royals at the TMU Beach Volleyball Courts. The match is set to begin at 1 p.m.
