December 22, 2021 | by Taylor Pill

WATERTOWN, Wis. -- Things took a turn for the worst quickly in the 2021 Maranatha Women's Volleyball campaign, but a rookie-veteran mix persisted through a rough patch of opening matches to reap some serious payoff near the end of the 2021 season.

Their efforts were rewarded with regional and national accolades from the National Christian College Athletic Association, and even though the end of the story wasn't what they wanted, a promising young group of student-athletes stepped up when it mattered most. Losing four seniors will hurt, but the young guns are set to fill the holes going into next year. 

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UPS AND DOWNS

Numerous injuries took out veteran starters in the opening weekends of the season, thrusting new faces into the crucible of key starting roles with the pressure on. An ever-changing lineup combined with a rigorous NCAA DIII schedule to create a dry spell for the Sabercats, who had to wait until their ninth match of the season to record their first win.

Not only did Maranatha have an unpredictable start to the season, but they also faced the disappointment of having their home opener canceled. Normally that's not a big deal, but the Sabercats only had three home matches on the schedule for the entire season. COVID and its stipulations made scheduling non-conference games with other DIII schools almost an impossibility, and the Sabercats had been given the short end of the stick.

But that first win (3-0 over Mount Mary) opened the floodgates for the Blue and Gold, who were looking stronger, smarter, and more complete as a team. Maranatha promptly went 9-2 through their next 11 matches, putting together back-to-back wins in their brief appearance on their home floor.

Going into Regionals, the team had proven their depth and their ability to win. Now, it was time to put it all together.

And they did just that. After a straight-set win over Calvary in the North Region Semifinal, Maranatha staved off a comeback from the Faith Baptist Eagles in the NCCAA North Region Championship. The win over the Eagles secured the Sabercats' eighth straight regional title and secured their trip to Florida and the 2021 NCCAA DII National Tournament.

Seeded #8 in an eight-team field, the Sabercats had their work cut out for them in pool play, taking disappointing losses to the eventual finalists (#1 Bob Jones and #4 Johnson Tennessee) to be eliminated from the national semifinals. They took those losses before ending the season on a high note with a 3-1 win over Faith.

The Nationals finish wasn't what they wanted, but they had some individual achievements to take some of the sting out. Mattie Bumpus collected the North Region MVP award before being named as the NCCAA DII National MVP. The national award was the seventh in program history, since their first selection in the 2010-11 season.

Bumpus would go on to earn AVCA/NCCAA All-America honors along with Emily Johnson, who passed the 1,500-assists mark as a sophomore.

The Sabercats received a number of additional awards, which are highlighted below.

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OVERVIEW

• Record: 14-17
• NCCAA Record: 5-3
• NCCAA Finish: National Pool Play
• Notable: Eighth consecutive NCCAA regional title
• Notable: Mattie Bumpus - NCCAA DII National Player of the Year
• Notable: Seventh National Player of the Year Award

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AWARDS

Recently, the Sabercats announced their team awards at the Fall Athletic Awards Assembly, which are listed below. In addition to these honors, the student-athletes earned awards from the National Christian College Athletic Association.

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For more on the program, visit their team page here.