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Photo credit: Kaitlyn Dobson
Photo credit: Kaitlyn Dobson

Sabercats Finished Off with Late Aurora Run

THE OVERVIEW

  • Results: Maranatha 0-3 Aurora (18-25, 22-25, 13-25) 
  • Venue: Thornton Gymnasium, Aurora University
  • Attendance: 62
  • Record: Sabercats are now 2-15
  • Next Match for MBU: Saturday, Mar. 3 at North Central Triangular

THE LEAD

AURORA, Ill. -- Aurora University's 15-kill, 2-error final set sealed the deal tonight over the Sabercats, who suffered another straight-set defeat.

Maranatha struggled to get their game going against the NACC mainstays, but they still made Aurora earn over half of their points in the 3-set clash.

THE STORY

This match was not an easy one for the MBU attack, as the Sabercats were held to a season-low 12 kills and a -.110 attack percentage by a staunch Aurora defense.

In the opening set, the Sabercats started competitively but were victimized by a high-energy 10-1 run from the hosts, who took a commanding 19-8 lead after a mid-set run. To their credit, the Sabercats refused to yield even at that point, as kills from Derek Wallis and Luke Hassenplug propelled a small comeback late in the set. The terminal damage had already been done at that point, however, and the Spartans closed out the first-set win, 25-18.

The second set was clearly the most competitive, as the Sabercats chalked up 22 points to give the hosts a scare. MBU did well to keep both keep the ball in play and force Aurora into committing 18 errors in the second set alone. Despite the pressure from MBU, Aurora managed to procure miniature scoring sprees, eventually winning the set by 3 points.

With the win in sight, the Spartans were polished and all but unstoppable in the final set. Aurora boasted an attack line of 15 kills with 2 errors in 31 attempts, earning 9 of their last 10 points to seal the win in a convincing manner.

THE NUMBERS

 

Aurora compiled 37 kills on the match compared to 12 from Maranatha.

Wallis led MBU with 5 kills; Aurora's Justin Elliot led the Spartans with 7.

Aurora improves to 9-4 with this result.

Andrew Carpenter led Maranatha with 5 blocks.

Joel Depue anchored the MBU defense with 10 digs.

THE CALENDAR

The Sabercats will travel to North Central College tomorrow for a triangular. Maranatha's matches will begin at 2:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. Catch the details at mbusabercats.com/composite.