THE OVERVIEW

• Results: Maranatha 0-3 No. 5 Benedictine (15-25, 15-25, 16-25)
• Venue: Rice Center, Benedictine University
• Attendance: 87
• Record: Sabercats are now 4-23
• Next Match for MBU: Saturday, April 7 at Greenville - 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.

THE LEAD

LISLE, Ill. — The Sabercats took a 3-0 loss today to the Benedictine Eagles, who are ranked #5 in the country for NCAA DIII.

THE STORY 

Two early kills from the hosts laid down the law of the day, as the Eagles increased their lead steadily throughout the opening set. The Sabercats showed that they weren't intimidated in the middle stages of the frame, as kills from Derek Wallis, Brendan Burckart, and Andrew Carpenter made it a 4-point contest.

The Sabercats soon learned the hard way that it was a bad idea to make the Eagles mad, as the Eagles promptly posted an 8-0 run to take firm control of the set.

The hosts showed their quality late in the set, as they earned 9 of their last 10 points to take the 10-point win in the opener.

Against the odds, Maranatha held the lead through the early stages of the second set, as they were up 13-11 after earning 10 of their opening 13 points. MBU's 3 hitters from the opening set were joined with kills from Luke Hassenplug and James Rossiter. Any hopes the Sabercats had of beating the odds were soon negated, however, as the Eagles caught fire to go on an 11-1 run, which helped them close out the set.

Maranatha made Benedictine earn their keep in the second set, though, as the Eagles were responsible for 20 of their 25 points. After 2 sets, Benedictine had secured 2 consecutive 10-point wins and were headed towards their 19th win of the season.

That win came soon enough, as the Eagles consistently grew their lead in the third set to take home a 3-set win - their 10th sweep of the season.

Still, an Andrew Carpenter kill gave the Sabercats their 16th point of the set - 1 more point than the Sabercats tallied in the opening 2 frames. The final kill from Carpenter was a small symbol of the story of the season for MBU, who have improved consistently throughout their first varsity intercollegiate season.

THE NUMBERS

Benedictine amassed 58.0 points in the match.

Wallis led MBU with 7 kills while Carpenter and Burckart pitched in 6 and 5, respectively.

BU's Nick Malak led everyone with an attack line of 14-2-29.

Tim Kile handed out 14 assists.

Joel Depue's mark of 18 digs was tied for his third-highest mark this season.

THE CALENDAR

The Sabercats will conclude the season with 2 matches next Saturday. MBU will face Lindenwood at 1 p.m. and Greenville at 3 p.m. Catch the details at mbusabercats.com/composite.