CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa  – The Master’s University struggled against a high-energy Georgetown (KY) Tigers squad, losing in straight sets 23-25, 18-25, 20-25 in the championship match of the 2024 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Men’s Volleyball Championships.

It was the second time a team from The Master’s had made it to an NAIA championship game, and the second time the team came up short.

The Mustangs (26-3), the No. 1 seed in the tournament, finished the match hitting .167, never hitting higher than .267 in any set, with 21 errors against 37 kills.

“It wasn’t ideal,” said TMU head coach Jared Goldberg. “This week we played some good volleyball and played some bad volleyball. Tonight wasn’t the cleanest and Georgetown took advantage of that. They are a good team and played well at the right time.”

The Tigers, seeded No. 7 in the tournament, finished with 34 kills and 11 hitting errors for a .311 percentage. GC also out-blocked the Mustangs 12-4 and had six aces to TMU’s five.

“They played better,” said setter Patrick Paragas. “That’s a good team on the other side. They are big and physical and they came in with a good game plan. They just had the better night tonight.”

Will Avera led The Master’s with nine kills followed by six kills each for Diego Perez, Mason Mullins and Cole Oliver. Paragas had 30 assists with Cole Oliver leading the team with three aces.

The Mustangs were ranked No. 1 in the country for more weeks than any other time in their short history, and the 26 wins on the season is by far their best ever. Yet for Coach Goldberg, something stayed elusive.

“We accomplished everything but our goal,” Goldberg said. “There were a lot of firsts and we played some high-level volleyball throughout the year. Just couldn’t finish at the right time.”