The Lady Mustangs volleyball team dropped the first game of the I-84 Classic to Eastern Oregon University in four sets on Thursday in Nampa, Ida. 

Eastern Oregon was ranked No. 2 in the NAIA preseason poll, but it was TMU that jumped out to an early 1-0 lead. The Lady Mustangs opened up a six-point lead early, leading 13-7 off a kill from Isabella Amet.

Eastern Oregon rallied, and was able to tie the game at 15 all. But Master's was able to respond, using a 4-0 run to take the lead back again. That run contained a service ace from Sierra Hale and a kill by Macy Gebhards. TMU was able to get a close set win by a score of  25-23, thanks to another kill by Amet.

"It was a tough match tonight. We started extremely efficient, but Eastern Oregon is an experienced, veteran team that knows how to win and is extremely adaptable and balanced," TMU Head Coach McKenna Hafner said. "Every chance we get to play a good team like them is a gift and helps us better work towards our goal for the end of the season."

Master's continued to keep the score close, even leading the second set 9-8. But EOU finally started to put it together, going on a 4-0 run of their own and taking the set win by a score of 25-19.

TMU started strong once again in the third set, with the score tied at 10, but Eastern Oregon closed out the set efficiently, ending the set on a 10-2 run to take the set win.

The fourth set was dominated by EOU, as they opened up an 11-point lead, as they won the final set 25-15 to take the win.

"We talked a lot about learning what we need to from that game and then moving on to the next, because we have three more big matches this weekend to take care of," Coach Hanfer said. "I'm excited to see how we apply those lessons throughout the next two days."

Amet totaled 13 kills on the night, while Kate Wagner dished out 33 assists.

TMU will continue the tournament with a match against host College of Idaho tomorrow at 12:00 p.m. PDT.