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Hope International University

MVB vs TMU
(C) Liza Rosales
2
Hope International HOPE INT 16-8, 6-4
3
Winner The Master's THE MAST 23-0, 10-0
Hope International HOPE INT
16-8, 6-4
2
Final
3
The Master's THE MAST
23-0, 10-0
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 5 F
Hope International HOPE INT 25 23 25 15 13 (2)
The Master's THE MAST 21 25 22 25 15 (3)

Game Recap: Men's Volleyball | | Robert Nilsen

No. 14 Royals Battle Hard but Fall in Five Sets to No. 1 Mustangs

Santa Clarita, CA - The No. 14 Hope International men's volleyball team (16-8) fought hard but couldn't hold on as they fell 3-2 in a five set thriller to the No. 1 Master's University Mustangs in the GSAC Championship game on Thursday evening on the road in Santa Clarita, CA.

The Royals came out on a mission in the first set as they took an early lead and never looked back using a 6-1 run with kills from Cole Oliver and Coby Prowse and finished off by a kill from Sean Seaman to take a commanding 16-9 lead. The Mustangs rallied to make it 16-13 but the Royals regrouped after a timeout to hold off the Mustang with a kill from Prowse sealing a 25-21 win and giving them a 1-0 lead. The Royals continued their momentum into the second set as three straight service aces from Oliver put them up 7-5. The Royals continued to stay ahead of the Mustangs as a kill by Prowse put them 13-11 midway through the set. The Mustangs would finally answer to take the lead but the Royals took it back with a Kyler Tufuga kill putting them up 19-18. The Mustangs would again comeback to take a 22-20 lead but the Royals fought to keep the set going as they tied it 22-22. The Royals weren't able to retake the lead as the Mustangs prevailed 25-23 to tie the game 1-1.

The Royals would take the momentum back in the third set as once again they took an early lead with a service ace from Javier Castillo putting them up 9-6. The Royals would then extend their lead to 12-8 before the Mustangs rallied to tie it 14-14. The Royals quickly regrouped after a timeout to take the lead back with kills from Prowse, Oliver and Julian Zavala putting them up 17-15. The Mustangs would rally to tie it multiple times before taking a 19-18 lead. The Royals would quickly reestablish their advantage as a kill from Oliver and a block from Damon Potter and Tufuga put the Royals up 21-19. The Mustangs tried to regroup after a timeout but the Royals held them off winning 25-22 to take a 2-1 lead putting the Mustangs down after three sets for the first time all season. The top ranked team in the country wasn't going to go down easy on their home turf as they bounced back in the fourth set racing out to a 19-10 lead. The Royals tried to rally but were never able to get anything going as they fell 25-15 with the Mustangs tying the game 2-2.

The fifth set was a battle but the Royals were unable to take the lead as a kill from Oliver and an ace by Zavala tie it 4-4. The Mustangs continued to hold the edge as a kill by Prowse kept the Royals in it down 8-7. The Mustangs would extend their lead to 13-9 but the Royals didn't go down easily either as they regrouped after a timeout with two more kills from Prowse pulling the Royals within 13-12 and 14-13 but the Mustangs weren't to be denied as they won 15-13 and 3-2. Prowse led the Royals with a season high 26 kills while Tufuga led with 46 assists.

The Royals will have to sit and wait to see if they are selected as an at large team for the NAIA Championships. Tune into the NAIA selection show on Tuesday, March 22 at 9:00 AM.
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