Box Score The Master's men's volleyball team finished the regular season undefeated with a 3-set win over No. 15 Hope International Wednesday in Fullerton, Calif.
The team had already wrapped up their second consecutive GSAC regular season championship with last Saturday's win over Park-Gilbert.
The Mustangs (21-0, 10-0), which continues to be the No. 1 team in the NAIA according to the latest Top 15 poll, won the match over the Royals 25-16, 25-16, 26-24. The team had to rely mostly on the block as TMU took an 8-4 advantage over HIU. And while the Royals had more kills than the Mustangs (30-26), TMU was more efficient hitting .309 to Hope's .084.
"It's great to finish a regular season undefeated," said TMU Head Coach
Jared Goldberg. "It's a testament to the consistency we have had all year."
The Master's went on a pair of 5-1 run early in the first to establish control of that set at 12-7. TMU continued to get two points for everyone one scored by Hope, stretching the lead by as much as 10 before settling for the 9-point win.
After the Royals open the second set up 3-1, the Mustangs went on a 12-6 run to open up a 13-9 lead. Hope closed to within 15-13, but TMU closed out the set on a 10-3 run to claim the second 25-16.
The third set once again started with a 3-1 Hope lead, only this time it was the Royals that went on a few runs. After HIU led 10-6, The Master's went on a 9-2 run to go up 15-12 and force a Hope timeout. The proved beneficial to the Royals as they scored five of the next six points to go up 17-16 and force a Mustangs timeout. The teams swapped points back and forth until Hope had set point at 24-23. But a kill by
Will Avera, followed by an ace from
Isaac Seltzer and a kill from
Braden Van Groningen gave the set to the Mustangs 26-24 and the 3-set match win.
Both Avera and Seltzer finished with a team-high seven kills, while Hamm dished 20 assists.
Max McCullough led the team with four blocks followed by
Trace Oswald with three.
The Master's will now focus on the GSAC Championship Tournament, which will get underway Monday night at 6 p.m. in The MacArthur Center. The Master's will be the No. 1 seed and will face OUAZ as the No. 4 seed. Should the Mustangs win that match, they will host the conference championship on Thursday, April 17.
"Now it's time to start prepping for a big GSAC semifinal match on Monday," Goldberg said.
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