THE OVERVIEW

• Results: Maranatha 3-0 CUW (25-19, 25-20, 25-14), Maranatha 0-3 Fontbonne (19-25, 15-25, 17-25)
• Venue: R. John Buuck Fieldhouse, Concordia-Wisconsin
• Attendance: 111, 46
• Record: Sabercats are now 2-5
• Next Match for MBU: Saturday, Feb. 3 at Trinity Tri

THE LEAD

MEQUON, Wis. -- The Sabercats' persistence was rewarded this afternoon, as they secured their second win of the season by sweeping CUW in straight sets.

The win was part of a 1-1 showing at the CUW Tri, as MBU picked up a loss to Fontbonne later in the afternoon. Derek Wallis finished the day with 19 kills.

THE STORY

MBU never trailed in first set as they came out of the gate eager to compete and take another win off of the Falcons. Brendan Burckart, Devon Steuerwald, and Andrew Carpenter put the finishing touches on the set to hold off a late CUW charge. Behind the alert kills from the trio of hitters, the Sabercats secured a 25-19 win.

CUW held a narrow advantage through the opening phases of set two, but the Sabercats refused to go away. A 10-2 run in the middle of the set swung the momentum entirely in favor of the Blue and Gold, who went on for their second straight set win. Late kills from Carpenter, Wallis, Taylor Dafoe, and Luke Hassenplug showed the Sabercats' balance in attack.

The Sabercats had victory in sight in the third set, and their play was a force to be reckoned with.

Early on, Wallis and Burckart led an attack that featured a 12-2-25 line in the final set. Behind the sharp hitting from the front line, Joel Depue, Dafoe, and the Sabercats' defense only let CUW come within 5 points of the lead throughout the entire exchange. Behind balanced and alert play from back to front, MBU closed out an emphatic ending to an impressive win to the tune of 25-14.

Wallis posted 12 kills to lead MBU to a total of 35 kills - their most in any 3-set match this season. Carpenter backed Wallis up with 10 kills of his own.

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Against a tall, deep, and powerful Fontbonne squad, the Sabercats' match was less celebratory. The Griffins - who haven't tasted defeat in a single set this season - showed their strength right from the get-go, as they posted 15 kills in the first set. But despite being outmatched on paper, the Sabercats didn't back down, as they stayed tight with the Griffins in the opening exchanges. Even though Fontbonne had set point at 24-16, the Sabercats took 3 points off of the Griffins late on.

That 25-19 scoreline was the closest the Sabercats would come, however, as the Griffins' attack averaged 16 kills and just 4 errors over the last two sets, lifting them to their third consecutive straight-set win.

While the Griffins took the win, the Sabercats showed, on the day, that they came to compete.

THE NUMBERS

Matt Wetzel dished out 16 assists in the first match - that's his second-highest this season.

Depue finished the day with 20 digs. Dafoe contributed 19.

Wallis' mark of 12 kills in the first match was his third match with double-digit kills this season.

The Sabercats' hitting percentage of .256 against CUW was their best on the season so far.

THE CALENDAR

The Sabercats will travel to Trinity Christian College tomorrow for another triangular. Maranatha will play Campbellsville and and Trinity Christian, and the matches will begin at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Catch the details at mbusabercats.com/composite.