THE OVERVIEW

• Results: Maranatha 0-3 Fontbonne (10-25, 20-25, 16-25), Maranatha 0-3 Illinois Tech (15-25, 16-25, 17-25)
• Venue: Keating Sports Center, Illinois Institute of Technology
• Attendance: 91, 67
• Record: Sabercats are now 2-9
• Next Match for MBU: Saturday, Feb. 17 at 11 a.m., 1:30 p.m. - Mount Mercy Triangular

THE LEAD

CHICAGO -- The Sabercats had their hands full in the Windy City, as they dropped 2 matches to the high-octane offenses of Fontbonne and IIT.

MBU faced 40-kill performances from both of their opponents and stayed competitive throughout the day. Derek Wallis continues to lead the attack, as he logged 15 kills for MBU on the day.

THE STORY

The Griffins of Fontbonne University showed the same offensive prowess that they displayed the last time they faced the Sabercats. After a commanding 25-10 win in the first set, Fontbonne looked to be heading for another easy win. The win did come in 3 sets, but the Sabercats made it difficult. Fueled by a well-balanced offense and some timely Fontbonne errors, the Sabercats recorded 20 points in the second set, but Fontbonne held off the Maranatha charge and found themselves en route to their second consecutive sweep of the Sabercats.

In the third set, the Sabercats were once again closely competitive throughout, just as they were in the second set. Wallis and Andrew Carpenter both recorded a couple of kills to keep the Sabercats on track, but a 6-0 run from the Griffins ended the Sabercats' hopes of taking anything tangible away from the match.

The Sabercats found difficulty in passing their serve receive, as 12 reception errors were one thing that differentiated the 2 squads on the day. Besides that, the difference was in the hitting. Fontbonne registered 40 kills from 88 attacks while the Sabercats managed just 20 from 78.

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The second match of the day had the same unwelcome theme as the first: the Sabercats were simply out-gunned at the net. The hosting Scarlet Hawks slammed down 42 kills while their scrappy defense held the Sabercats to an average of 16 points in the match. 

Maranatha did well to stay competitive throughout the contest. IIT did take control of the second set with a 13-3 run through the middle stages, but the Sabercats forced the Scarlet Hawks to earn their keep for the most part.

In the third and final set, the hard-hitting Scarlet Hawks strung together an 8-1 run to jump out to a 22-13 lead. From there, the win for the hosts was a formality, as they swept the Sabercats en route to winning their own triangular.

THE NUMBERS

Wallis' 15-kill tally moves him above 100 for the season.

Matt Wetzel recorded 18 assists on the day.

THE CALENDAR

The Sabercats will travel to Mount Mercy University Saturday, Feb. 17 to compete in a triangular with MMU and Judson University. The matches are set to begin at 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Catch the details at mbusabercats.com/composite.