After The Master’s University volleyball coach Allan Vince gathered his team in the wake of a 3-1 loss to William Jessup in Rocklin on Saturday, he focused his words on “belief.”

“We have to develop a belief that whatever gym we come into, we’re going to win,” he said after the match, which had set scores of 21-25, 25-21, 25-18 and 25-22.

“… We need to back up that belief with action,” he said. “We need to be able to respond to adversity quickly; we need to problem solve in the battlefield and make decisions that ultimately strengthen our belief.”

Vince knows it’s a lesson a young team must learn by experience, as painful as that can be.

The Mustangs lost 3-0 to Menlo College on Friday night, one week after a momentum-building home stand where Master’s won two conference games in five sets.

Saturday against Jessup, Morgan Koch led the Mustangs (6-9 overall, 2-3 in Golden State Athletic Conference) with 11 kills. Jane Cisar had the next best mark with six.

Kayla Sims tallied 25 assists, and McKenna Hafner had 16 digs.

The Mustangs return home for a match against Hope International on Thursday night. Game time is 7 p.m.

“We’re going through the process of learning with each match,” Vince said. “I have to be patient with the process, because once they do establish that belief in winning, we have the athletes to excel tremendously. We just have to turn the corner.”