LEAD

WATERTOWN, Wis. -- The Sabercats were outmatched tonight, falling 3-0 to Marian in their first home game of 2021.

Phillip Holbrook led the way with eight kills for Maranatha but Marian unleashed 40 kills of their own on the night to take the straight-set win and a little bit of revenge from last season.

OVERVIEW

• Result: Maranatha 0-3 Marian (14-25, 16-25, 16-25)
• Venue: Maranatha Baptist University
• Location: Watertown, Wis.
• Attendance: 201
• Records: Maranatha (1-4), Marian (1-0)

STORY

Maranatha struggled with the serve tonight - eight service errors and eight reception errors helped tip the scales in favor of Marian. But to the Sabres' credit, they compiled 40 kills on the night. The biggest offensive onslaught for Marian came in the second set when their 16 kills came at an alarming attack percentage of .652.

The Sabercats fought off three consecutive Marian match points, but it wasn't enough on the day. Marian avenged their five-set defeat from last year, taking the win and the bragging rights away from Maranatha and the 2021 season. Tyler Wills paced Marian with 13 kills and Zach Zelenik ran the 6-1 rotation with 24 assists on the night. Carzell Combs solidified his libero duties with 14 digs for Marian.

On the Maranatha side of the net, Taylor Dafoe added two kills on the night and kept the offense running with 14 assists. Isaac McKee had three kills and three blocks, and Holbrook added five digs and a block to his team-leading eight-kill total.

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Maranatha Starters: 4- McKee, 5- Dafoe, 6- Rossiter, 8- Hoffmann (L), 11- Fopma, 12- Holbrook, 17- Valeria

STATS 

• Holbrook: 8K, 5D, 1B
• Taylor Dafoe: 2K, 14 A, 8D
• Isaac McKee: 3K, 7D, 3B
• MBU: .035 Attack percentage
• Series: Marian now leads the series 4-1

OPPONENTS

• Marian competes in the NCAA DIII's Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference.
• Marian began their 2021 season with this match
• Marian has this match as their only tune-up game before beginning NACC play

NEXT

The Sabercats' next match is scheduled for Saturday at 11 a.m. at Graceland University in Malonia, Iowa. Find details at mbusabercats.com/schedule.