In a battle between the last two unbeaten teams in Great Southwest Athletic Conference women's volleyball, The Master's University Mustangs defeated the Ottawa University Arizona Spirit 25-21, 23-25, 25-13, 25-23 in The MacArthur Center in Newhall.
The Lady Mustangs (10-4, 4-0) were able to get the advantage in kills (52-43), hitting percentage (.221 - .094), service aces (11-8) and total blocks (7-4).
But the match truly could have gone either way.
"We have a ton of depth on our team and a lot of belief in each other," TMU Head Coach Annett Davis said after the match. "I am super thankful for today's win and that the Lord allowed us to win such a hard fought match. We have had some adversity with injuries lately and have been pushing through in spite of that."
The first set gave the crowd a glimpse of what was to come as the teams traded leads through the midpoint of the set. But with the Spirit holding a 13-12 lead, TMU went on a 7-2 run to take a four-point lead 19-15. The Spirit battled back to tie it at 19-19, but TMU was able to get six of the final eight points to win by four.
The second set was a battle from the start. The Spirit was able to grab a 14-10 lead, only to see The Master's again come back with a 6-0 run to take the lead 16-14. Then it was the Spirit who went on a 6-2 run to go up by two 21-19. TMU was able to tie it at 23-23, but a kill from the Spirit's Jenna Sarff, followed by an attack error from the Lady Mustangs, gave the second set to the Spirit.
The Master's jumped out to an early lead in the third set and only extended it from there. The Spirit got to within seven at 19-12, but The Master's finished out the set on a 6-1 run to take a two sets to one advantage.
The fourth set was another classic battle between two good teams. TMU started out with a 10-7 lead, only to have the Spirit go on a 4-0 run to take an 11-10 lead. TMU got the next three points, only to have the Spirit punch back to get the next six and go up 17-13. The Lady Mustangs counter punched, getting a 7-2 run to go up 20-19. After the two teams battled to make it 23-23, TMU's Grace Colburn pounded her last two kills to give The Master's the set and the match.
Colburn finished with a game-high 20 kills, followed by Ruby Duncan with 11. Kinsley Kollman had a career-high nine kills, with Bella Amet also finishing with nine. Timberlie Miller dished 41 assists, Duncan led the team with four blocks and Sierra Hale had 16 digs.
The Master's will now go on the road to Arizona to face a new GSAC opponent, Park-Gilbert, on Thursday, Oct. 3, and Benedictine Mesa on Friday, Oct. 4.