CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- For the fourth consecutive year, The Master's men's volleyball team is moving on to the semifinals of the NAIA National Championship tournament.

The defending national champions, the No. 2-seed Mustangs hit .474 in the 3-set 25-19, 25-18, 25-18 pool play win. TMU went 2-0 in pool play to advance to the single-elimination portion of the tournament.

"I think we played pretty well and consistent in a tournament of this format," said TMU Head Coach Jared Goldberg. "I'm really glad to get out of here in three sets and not have to play some extra games."

The Mustangs opened up a 6-2 lead in the first, never relinquishing the lead. The lead grew to as much as seven before TMU settled for the 6-point first set win.

The team had 17 kills in that first set compared to the Bobcats six, setting the tone for the rest of the match.

STU opened up a 3-1 lead to start the second, only to have The Master's come back and tie it at 3-3. The teams traded points and three more ties, but when a Bobcats service error tied it once again at 7-7, the Mustangs started an 8-2 run to open up a 14-9 lead. St. Thomas pulled to within three at 21-18, but the final four points went to TMU for the 7-point set win.

The third set was tight through the first half, but after it was tied 12-12, Master's scored four in a row to open up a comfortable lead. That lead stayed comfortable, with TMU taking five of the final seven points to once again take the set and win the match.

Isaac Seltzer, who was honored before the game as the AVCA NAIA Player of the Year, led the Mustangs with 15 kills. 2026 All-American Trace Oswald had 13 kills and hit .611 for the match.

"Our team played a great match," Oswald said. "We know that every team is competing for the rest of their season, so we need to compete harder than them."

All-American Garrett Beall led the team with five blocks, while All-American Setter Matthew Hamm dished 39 assists.

No. 3-seed Saint Xavier Cougars won their pool, which sets up a re-match with the Mustangs from last year's championship match that TMU won 3-1.

"We're getting ready for a really good Saint Xavier team, who we played to open the season," Goldberg said. "It's a little bit different of a feel here, so I'm sure it will be a great battle."

Master's opened their season with a 3-set win over the Cougars back on Jan. 16. Friday's semifinal is scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m. PT.