For just the third time in 23 matches, The Master’s University men’s volleyball team went five sets in a match. And for the third time in 23 matches, the team won, only this time it was for the GSAC Tournament Championship.

The No. 1-seeded Mustangs came from behind to defeat the No. 3-seed Hope International Royals 21-25, 25-23, 22-25, 25-15, 15-13 to win their second consecutive conference tournament title.

And with the win TMU (23-0) gets an automatic berth and the likely No. 1 seed to the NAIA National Championship tournament that runs from April 28 to May 3 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

“I literally forgot it was the GSAC Championship. I just didn’t want to lose my last home game,” said middle blocker Will Avera. “So when they brought out the shirts and the trophy I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is a big deal!'”

The Royal’s Coby Prowse was a difference maker and almost single handedly spoiled TMU’s perfect season. Out most of the season with a high ankle sprain, Prowse finished with a match-high 26 kills and hit .444 for the match. The nation’s leading hitter, Cole Oliver, who entered the match averaging 4.52 kills per set, was held to 13 kills.

“We knew going into it it was going to be a tough match,” said TMU outside hitter Braden Van Groningen, the GSAC Player of the Year. “Hope came out to win and played well, Cole (Oliver) played well, Coby Prowse did too. We had to fight. We were on the ropes in the first and second set and pulled the second set out. Slowly from there we found our groove from the service line and we were able to get our offense going and then get our defense going too. (Hope’s) offense was rolling and we were struggling to get stops, but as the match went on we started getting those block touches and then finally some blocks.”

“Some of us who know (the Royals), knew they would come to fight, and we had to punch back,” Avera said. “And we did.”

Things turned in the fourth. The Mustangs, down two sets to one and with their backs against the wall, had their best set, hitting .522 for the set and winning it by 10.

“For us we’ve got eight seniors and we all came into this match knowing it was going to be our last home game,” Van Groningen said. “And so Coach Jared, Will (Avera) and I were trying to bring that to the team that this is our last game and we’ve got to give it our all. Hope’s playing for their season over there. They don’t have a guaranteed bid (to the national championship tournament), so tonight was that bid. But we were able to take that automatic bid. So it was honestly about protecting our home court, keeping the win streak alive and having our seniors go out with a bang here at home.”

Before the match even started, Avera gave the pre-game speech, and that speech came into play during the team’s dominant fourth set.

“I talked to the team about how, for some of us, this is our last time playing in this gym,” Avera said. “And the three four-year players (Will Avera, Ian Duncan and Braden Van Groningen), when we came in, the year before the team had gone 2-8. So winning the GSAC (championship) was a pipe dream. So where we are now, what we’ve built, this house that we’ve built, has come from a lot of sweat, a lot of work, and we’ve got to remember to keep that in mind. Ultimately, the real reason we have success, is because we are built on a foundation that wise men build on, and that’s Christ. We’ve got moms praying for us, we’ve got coaches praying for us, we’ve got our team chaplain Mike Buchanan praying for us. If you heard us during the game, I would ask guys ‘Whose house?’ and they would say ‘Our house,’ because we built it. That motivated us. So we flipped on that switch and we turned on the jets and made some big plays.”

Van Groningen led the Mustangs’ attack with 20 kills, finishing the match with a .500 hitting percentage. Trace Oswald had 14 kills and Avera finished with 11, with no attack errors and hitting .611. Matthew Hamm had 44 assists while both Avera and Max McCullough had three blocks each. Isaac Seltzer led the back row with 16 digs.

Now all that’s left is the national tournament and a chance to redeem last year’s loss in the championship match. The NAIA selection show will be presented on You Tube on Tuesday at 9 a.m.

For more information visit GoMustangs.com.