Game Recap By Mason Nesbitt, TMU Sports Information Director

Twenty minutes after The Master’s University completed a sweep of No. 7 Westmont College on Saturday, ending the Warriors’ 32-match winning streak in conference play and validating TMU as a contender for the Golden State Athletic Conference title, Bross Court remained abuzz.

So, it wasn’t until he slipped through a side door and into an empty training room that coach Allan Vince folded his arms and allowed himself to reflect on what he’d just seen.

It was magical. Vince and a boisterous crowd of several hundred fans watched the Mustangs overcome two daunting deficits in Saturday’s third set to earn their 14th win in 17 matches.

It was No. 25 TMU’s second win over a ranked opponent this season, and its first victory over Westmont since 2015.

Game scores were 25-15, 25-22 and 25-23.

“When something like that happens,” Vince said, “you can’t help but look at the girls on the court and have this sense of privilege. This sense of privilege to be their coach. It was a really sweet moment.”

Madi Fay was electric. The opposite hitter scored with power and finesse, reeling off a match-high 11 kills and showing the improved volleyball IQ that’s come with her second season at Master’s.

The Mustangs (14-3, 3-0 in GSAC) grew as a group last year, taking the lumps that come with playing mostly underclassmen in an unforgiving conference. The fruit of it showed during a nine-match winning streak to open 2018 and a win over then-No. 14 Columbia College on the road earlier this month.

That match and the one that followed, a five-set loss to then-No. 1 Lindsey Wilson, pushed the Mustangs’ confidence to a new high. It showed Saturday, as the team took set one in commanding fashion and doubled down in set two.

The Warriors (11-2, 2-1) – whose last loss in GSAC play came on Nov. 14, 2015, to the Mustangs no less – didn’t go quietly. Westmont ran out to a 10-2 lead in set three.

“We just said the game’s not over till it hits 25,” Fay said. “Every point, every volley, we have to do everything we can till they blow the whistle and it’s game over.”

That didn’t happen before a Mustang rally.

Regan Tate keyed it with a trio of kills, and Jane Cisar capped it with an ace. TMU led 18-17.

Then it fell behind 22-19.

“Same mindset,” Fay said.

This time freshman Chloe Emory took the lead. When Emory stepped on campus this fall, Vince expected her to be an immediate game-changer.

Saturday night, she nearly brought down the house, recording three kills as part of a 5-0 Master’s run that produced a 24-22 lead.

Two plays later, Emily Curtin‘s kill gave the Mustangs’ one of their most impressive wins during Vince’s five-year tenure. Fay wasn’t surprised.

“We came out to win,” she said, “and that’s exactly what we did.”

Here’s the box score.