A 3-0 loss was not the ground-shaking upset The Master’s University women’s volleyball team hoped for when it headed north to Santa Barbara on Friday for a match with NAIA No. 6 Westmont College.

In fact, this was a decisive 3-0 Mustangs loss by scores of 25-17, 25-22 and 25-16.

This was, however, a step in the right direction for a young team learning to compete in uncomfortable settings.

“I thought we played them tough,” said Master’s coach Allan Vince. “And I thought we played with discipline in many parts of our game.”

The discipline was necessary. The Warriors, without exaggerating, have been utterly dominant. In eight Golden State Athletic Conference matches, they’ve lost all of two sets.

Master’s (7-11, 3-5 GSAC) claimed one of those sets back on Sept. 9 in the first conference match of the year. That, though, came in the friendly confines of Bross Court.

The Mustangs haven’t fared as well away from home. Friday, they showed some mettle.

Emily Curtin led Master’s with 10 kills. Jane Cisar followed with nine, and McKenna Hafner recorded 22 digs.

Morgan Koch added four blocks for the Mustangs, who took a 3-0 lead in the second set and, after falling behind, rallied to tie the score 19-19.

A Master’s error put Westmont ahead by one, though, and the Warriors never trailed again. But even after a less competitive final set, Vince felt his team had risen to the occasion against a team that’s 22-1 on the year.

“We executed our scout very well tonight,” he said. “Our blockers were on point and made Westmont’s hitters do things they were not comfortable with to score.”

Here’s the box score.

Master’s returns to action on Oct. 13 at the Fall Volleyball Classic tournament in Columbia, Missouri.