Braden Van Groningen took the set from Matthew Hamm and pounded it down for a kill to seal The Master’s 5-set win over Stanford Saturday night in Palo Alto, Calif.
The Mustangs, ranked No. 1 in the NAIA, took down the No. 8-ranked NCAA Division I Cardinal 24-26, 25-21, 25-22, 26-28, 15-11.
TMU hit .329 to Stanford’s .316, but fell short on the total kills (63-61), blocks (8-5) and service aces (8-6).
But all that matters is the 3-2 difference in sets.
“Really consistent play by our defense tonight in slowing down a really good offense,” said TMU Head Coach Jared Goldber. “We talked before the game about finishing tight sets and we did that really well tonight.”
The first set was tight throughout, with the teams tied 13 times during the set. The last tie was 24-24 before Stanford got two kills to win it 26-24.
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The second set had TMU jump out to a 3-0 lead, only to find the Cardinal battle back. However, after tying it at 8-8, The Master’s went on a 6-1 run to go up 14-9. The Cardinal fought back and got to within a point, but the Mustangs pulled away at the end scoring three of the final four points to win by four and tie the match 1-1.
Stanford was able to ride a 3-point cushion through the first half of the third set, that was until TMU went on an 8-2 run in the middle to go up 19-15. And despite closing to within a point again at 23-22, a Cardinal service error and a kill by Hamm gave the final two points to The Master’s and a 2-1 set lead.
It looked like the Mustangs were going to close it out in the fourth when they rode the momentum wave of a 5-1 run to go up 20-16. After trading a pair of points, Stanford knocked off four straight points to go up 23-22.
But The Master’s got a service error from the Cardinal and then a Max McCullough kill to get to match point at 24-23. But in front of their home crowd, Stanford won four of the next five points to take the set and deliver a decisive fifth.
The Mustangs controlled that final set, jumping out to a 7-3 lead. And even though the Cardinal battled back again and got to within yet another point at 9-8, TMU broke it open to capture te next four points to open up an insurmountable 13-8 advantage. A kill by Isaac Seltzer took it to match point before Van Groningen delivered the winning blow to give the match to The Master’s.
Van Groningen led the party with 18 kills, followed by both Seltzer and McCullough getting 12. Matthew Hamm dished 48 assists while McCullough was able to add four blocks. Preston Schmidt led the back row with 18 digs.
The Master’s will be back home on Wednesday when they host the Simpson Redhawks in The MacArthur Center. First serve is set for 7 p.m.
