No patch of floor was safe Friday night as Jane Cisar powerfully pieced together one of her best matches as a Mustang.
“Every time she was up, she pounded it to a different spot on the court,” said The Master’s University women’s volleyball coach Allan Vince. “She was dynamic.”
Cisar tallied 14 kills in what became a road sweep of Ottawa University Arizona. She did it on 18 attempts and with no errors.
For an encore, the junior reeled off 14 more kills Saturday, as the No. 25 Mustangs earned a 3-1 win over Arizona Christian.
This one didn’t come as easily, with Master’s having to rebound from a stunning second set loss. But Vince didn’t see it as a bad thing.
“I invite bumps in the road,” he said. “I invite the hardships, as long as our destination is still set. I told them not every win is going to be a quick one, and if a game gets taken off us, it doesn’t devalue us or take away from what we’re capable of.”
The Mustangs (12-3) have proven capable of far more than a year ago. With Saturday’s victory, Master’s surpassed last season’s win total, with 17 matches remaining on the schedule.
Of course, the Mustangs want to ride far past their regular-season finale on Nov. 3. The team has made it clear its goal is to win the Golden State Athletic Conference tournament, which would secure a trip to NAIA nationals for the first time since 2013.
The team has benefitted from the consistent play of Hart High graduate Madi Fay, who recorded eight kills in each of TMU’s matches over the weekend.
Fay is currently second on the squad with 129 kills – or 21 fewer than Cisar, whose position change has been crucial to the season.
Cisar admits she was reluctant to switch from opposite hitter to middle blocker. But performances like Friday and Saturday have set her mind at ease.
“I think it’s a confirmation that this is the position I should be in,” she said.
The Mustangs have made another transition, moving from a 5-1 to a 6-2 system. Senior Kayla Sims and junior Sarah Park have both been productive, slinging passes to a deep group of attackers that includes Regan Tate and Autumn Stevens.
Master’s returns home to host the University of Saint Katherine on Thursday at 5 p.m. and No. 7 Westmont College on Saturday at 7 p.m.
Golden goal lifts women’s soccer
Sierra Carrasco threaded the pass. Lynnae George finished the deal.
The Master’s University women’s soccer team beat the University of Jamestown 2-1 Saturday, with George scoring a golden goal in the second minute of overtime.
To make it happen, Carrasco drove up the left side of the field before zipping a low pass across the face of the goal. George ran onto it and scored from point-blank range, lifting the No. 24 Mustangs (4-2-1) to their first win over a ranked opponent this season.
No. 25 Jamestown managed just two shots in the game, one making its way into the net in the 71st minute. TMU’s Hailey Gomillion answered in the 80th minute to set the stage for George’s heroics.
It was TMU’s second overtime game in as many days.
Master’s tied the University of Antelope Valley 0-0 on Friday, leaving the Mustangs with less than 17 hours to prepare for Jamestown. That made Master’s all the hungrier to end Saturday’s match early.
“Going into overtime, our team was like, ‘We have to do this,'” Carrasco said. “’Put the ball in the back of the net and we get to go home, we get to go home.'”
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