In the 2026 season opener, The Master's University women's volleyball team lost to Northwestern College in five sets on Friday in Fullerton, Calif., in the first game of the Hope Summer Slam. 

Master's opened their 2026 campaign facing the Red Raiders, who are No. 1 team in the NAIA preseason poll. But it was the Lady Mustangs who dominated early, as TMU jumped out to a 2-0 set lead.

In the first set, Master's scored the first four points of the game off a kill from Macy Gebhards and Sierra Hale's first service ace of the season. TMU pushed their lead up to 8-2 before the Red Raiders closed the gap back down. Northwestern narrowed the gap to just one point at 14-13, but the Lady Mustangs were able to hold them off. 

A kill from Isabella Amet put TMU up five at 22-17 and a Red Raider attack error moved the score to 24-18. Kinsley Kollmann gave TMU their first set win of the season with a kill of her own. 

Kollmann started to emerged as a force in the second set, as the junior was racking up kills. She had seven kills in that set and Master's opened up a 7-3 advantage in the early goings. TMU led by as many as seven in that second set, at 16-9 and 20-13, as they were able to take a commanding 2-0 lead over the Red Raiders. 

"I thought we competed very hard against a team that knows how to win and what it takes to succeed in the NAIA landscape," TMU Head Coach McKenna Hafner said. "They are the caliber of team that are expected to be at the final site come December, so any chance to play them and see how we match up is a gift."

Northwestern rallied in the third set, putting together a strong 10-5 run to take a 20-15 lead late in the set. Both Gebhards and Amet had kills to narrow the gap, but an attack error by Kollman got the Red Raiders on the board.

In the fourth set, Northwestern grabbed the lead early and never looked back. They held advantages of 14-8 and 21-14, en route to another set win, which tied the game at two a piece. TMU struggled offensively in the fourth set, hitting just .065 to NU's .265. 

The fifth and final set was also marked by a strong Red Raider offense, as they hit .350 over that span. TMU kept rallying, as Gehbards, Amet and Kollmann all notched multiple kills, but TMU would end up falling in the final set 15-9. 

Kollmann totaled a team-high 16 kills and Amet had 13 as well. Chloe Grever added 10 kills and four blocks in her first game as a Lady Mustang. 

It will be a quick turnaround for the Lady Mustangs, as they will have to take on Southern Oregon at 1:00 p.m. on Friday for the second game of the Hope Summer Slam.