The Mustangs' quest to repeat as NAIA National Champions got off to a strong start as they swept William Penn in their opening match at NAIA Nationals on Tuesday in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. 

As the No. 2 seed in the tournament, TMU faced No. 10 seed William Penn University and made quick work of the Statesmen, winning 25-23, 25-27, 25-16. 

The Master's used a balanced offensive attack, as five Mustangs had seven or more kills. Ezra Vlad led the way with nine kills and four blocks. 

It was William Penn who claimed the early lead, as they built advantages of 7-4 and 13-9. The Statesmen built their largest lead at 16-9 and seemed poised to take the opening set. But the Mustangs responded with a 6-2 run, including of two kills a piece from GSAC Player of the Year Isaac Seltzer and Trace Oswald. 

"I was pretty happy with how the team bounced back after starting slow in the first set," TMU Head Coach Jared Goldberg said. "Our middles did a great job offensively and we got more comfortable from the service line as the match progressed."

With TMU still trailing 21-19, they seized control with a 5-0 run to come within one point of taking the opening-set win. In that key run, Vlad had a kill and a block, while Seltzer notched two service aces. Another kill from the senior Vlad sealed the opening set win for The Master's. 

The Mustangs had a much better start in the second set, getting out to leads of 7-4 and 11-6. TMU continued to apply strong service pressure on the Statesmen, as Preston Schmidt, Oswald and Vlad all tallied aces in the early goings of the frame. TMU went on a 6-1 run and went up 17-9 by another ace from Oswald. That run was highlighted by two kills from Garrett Beall and a kill from Isaac Igo put TMU in the driver's seat, up 2-0. 

The early stages of the final set were again dominated by TMU, as they built up a lead of 8-3, thanks to a 6-1 stretch. Another strong Mustang run put them up 20-12, after taking eight of ten points during that span. Brayden Darm and Jace Davis got their first NAIA nationals action as Darm notched an ace and Davis got a kill. 

TMU closed out the set and match win on a Statesmen service error. Vlad finished a perfect 9 for 9 and TMU had 10 service aces on the day, compared to none for William Penn.

TMU will continue in pool play to take on St. Thomas University on Thursday at 11:00 a.m.