The Master’s University men’s volleyball team was ranked No. 1 in the country in the NAIA men’s volleyball poll released Wednesday.

This is the first time in program history that the Mustangs have been ranked No. 1.

“What matters more is being No. 1 at the end of the season, not towards the beginning,” said Head Coach Jared Goldberg. “We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us.”

Earlier this season, TMU Men’s Volleyball went on the road and beat teams that were then ranked No. 1 and No. 5 in the country. The Mustangs have also faced some of the nation’s best teams at any level.

TMU beat a split-squad Hawaii team in an exhibition on Nov. 5. Hawaii is the two-time defending NCAA champion and currently ranked No. 1 in NCAA. And on Feb. 4, the Mustangs pushed Stanford University, ranked No. 6 in the NCAA, during a regular season loss inside The MacArthur Center at TMU. Set scores against the Cardinal were 23-25, 21-25, and 18-25.

Goldberg said he doesn’t expect Wednesday’s No. 1 ranking to impact the way the Mustangs approach each match.

“We know we have challenges ahead of us,” he said. “Based on the current rankings, we play the No. 2 team in the country two more times, the No. 3 team in the country two more times, the No. 4 and 5 teams once each and the No. 6 team two more times. There’s a lot of talented teams in that group, and my honest assessment is we are all going to beat up on each other a little bit. But we will be more prepared come the end of the season and the NAIA national tournament going through those types of challenges and those types of games.”

TMU’s next match is Friday in Irvine, California, against Concordia University. The Mustangs will be home on Saturday against Benedictine-Mesa at 1 p.m. General admission inside The MacArthur Center is $10. Seniors, children, and alumni are $5. Kids under 5 are free. Tickets can be purchased by cash or credit card at the ticket booth.

This is TMU’s fourth season of competing in intercollegiate men’s volleyball. TMU — a Christian liberal arts university located in Santa Clarita, California — now offers 18 men’s and women’s sports. Learn more about TMU Athletics at gomustangs.com.