CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- An incredible season has come to an end as The Master's men's volleyball team lost to the Saint Xavier (IL) Cougars 3-1 Friday in the semifinals of the 2026 NAIA National Championships.
The two teams were almost identical in stats with both teams scoring 62 points, the Cougars edged the Mustangs in hitting percentage (.317 to .316), TMU the advantage in kills (54-53), and SXU better with aces (4-3). Both teams had five blocks each.
But Saint Xavier won the first set 25-23, holding an advantage throughout. Master's came back to take the second set 25-21, but when the Cougars grabbed the momentum early in the third set to go up 8-3, that advantage stayed with the team from Illinois to win the third 25-19. And despite TMU's efforts that gave them the lead 22-20 in the fourth, it was Saint Xavier winning five of the final six points to take the final set 25-23 and win the match.
It was just the second loss of the season for The Master's, but clearly the most painful.
"We lost the serve and pass battle overall," said TMU Head Coach
Jared Goldberg. "I thought we fought really well and a couple of plays could have gone either way, but we fell short."
Isaac Seltzer led the team with 22 kills and hit .425. He finishes his career as the all-time leader in kills and attacks.
"It's really sad. I've been here for four years now," said Seltzer, who ends his career as the AVCA NAIA Player of the Year. "Everyone was always saying, 'Why don't you transfer? Why don't you go to a bigger, better school?' I always tell them my home is here at Master's. This has been my home the last four years and I wouldn't change anything for the world.
Matthew Hamm had 44 assists in his final game in a Mustangs' uniform and exits as the program's all-time leader in assists.
"I'm just reflecting a lot on how gracious God has been these last four years of my collegiate career," Hamm said. "I'm very thankful that I can look back on these last four years and say that I gave it my all. Freshman year I wrote a quote on my mirror in my dorm and I believe that was true of my career. The quote was, 'Only one life will soon be past, only what's done for Christ will last.' I can look back on these four years and say I have not been perfect but I have played for Christ. I stepped out of my comfort zone in so many ways; took on more of a leadership role this year that I had to really stretch myself for, but I am just beyond thankful for this opportunity and how gracious God has been. So my volleyball career is over but when you have Christ volleyball is not the end of the world. I can look forward to living the rest of my life for Him. I am just so thankful. I love this team and this sport and how much of a blessing it's been in my life."
The season was filled with more ups than downs though. An NAIA record 47-match win streak that went back to the start of the 2025 season; that same win streak tied the record set by the UCLA Bruins back in 1980 for most consecutive wins by a men's college volleyball team; and the home win streak in The MacArthur Center, which goes back to March of 2023, stands at 34.
And for the fourth year in a row, advancing to the semifinals of the NAIA National Championship tournament.
"We've gotten a lot better since we started in the fall and I continued to see growth throughout this group," Goldberg said. "I'm really thankful for our five seniors and what they put in and a couple of those guys have been here for four years. It was pretty tough in the locker room afterwards... a combination of guys who just played their last game and thankful for their experience, along with some younger guys who got an opportunity to see what it's like to be very close and not quite reach the goal."
