THE OVERVIEW

• Results: Maranatha 3-1 New Jersey City (24-26, 25-19, 25-22, 25-22)
• Venue: John J. Moore AFC, New Jersey City University
• Attendance: 92
• Record: Sabercats are now 3-19
• Next Match for MBU: Friday, Mar. 23 at Widener Tri (Pa.) - 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.

THE LEAD

JERSEY CITY, N.J. — After weeks of improving through frustrating results, the Sabercats got the win last night to start their spring trip off right. And they won with style.

MBU recorded a season-high 50 kills en route to a 3-1 win over New Jersey City University. Three Sabercats registered double-digit kills in MBU's first win since the beginning of February.

THE STORY

The opening set was a preview of what was to come - namely, a tight contest from start to finish. MBU recorded 4 consecutive points at the beginning of the set, but that was the best scoring streak from either team. Once the set was established, it was an absolute dogfight until the end.

Four kills from Andrew Carpenter and 5 from Derek Wallis kept the Sabercats on track throughout the set, but the Gothic Knights earned set point at 22-24. A late kill from Wallis forced the hard-fought opener into a tie at 24-24, but NJCU promptly answered with 2 points to take what they felt was rightfully theirs - the win in the first set.

The better part of the second set was just a repeat of the first - the teams traded points and no one had more than a 4-point lead throughout the majority of the set. Brendan Burckart, Luke Hassenplug, and Tim Kile all added kills to solidify the well-balanced offense that characterized MBU on the night, and MBU's efforts paid off with a 19-14 lead.

NJCU answered with a 4-0 run, but MBU countered with 4 unanswered points of their own to set themselves on the brink of tying the match. The set win came soon enough, as a late kill from Devon Steuerwald was followed shortly afterward by a set-winning ace from the team captain, Taylor Dafoe.

Tie match.

MBU had the end goal in sight and the momentum to fuel the journey, and their play was rewarded. For the second time in the match, MBU would record 15 kills with just 6 hitting errors in the set, taking the third set by 3 points. It got started with a clean 5-0 run led by Carpenter, who recorded 3 early kills for Maranatha. Steuerwald took it from there, as the senior found his zone with 4 straight points for MBU - all kills - to give the Blue and Gold a 6-point cushion in the middle of the set. 

Steuerwald had 2 more kills to close out the set, as the senior put in a solid shift in what would be a career night for him. MBU took the third set 25-22 to lead, 2-1.

Maranatha closed out the match in the next set, but they had to work for it.

Sparked into action from the MBU rally, the Gothic Knights held the lead with determination through the majority of the fourth set - though it was never more than a 3-point advantage. The Sabercats forced errors from their host, as MBU needed only 6 kills to stay close throughout most of the set. 

A kill from Steuerwald (who else?) tied the set at 15, and the Sabercats took the lead by earning the next point. From there, MBU never looked back.

Fittingly, the Sabercats had a variety of players record kills to close out the match, which represented their well-balanced play throughout the night. Even more fittingly, perhaps, it was Steuerwald who knocked down the final point, as he finished a tantalizing pass from Kile. Steuerwald's kill allowed MBU to hold off a late NJCU charge to secure their first win in a number of weeks.

Persistence had paid off.

THE NUMBERS

Steuerwald's 13 kills and Carpenter's 11 kills were career-high marks.

Wallis recorded over 10 kills for the eighth time this season.

Kile dished out 39 assists - that was his career high as well.

This was the first time this season that MBU recorded a .200 hitting percentage or better in every set.

MBU finished with 10 blocks - that was their second-best mark this season.

MBU recorded 50 kills, which was their highest mark since their season-opening mark of 45 kills at CUW.

THE CALENDAR

The Sabercats will continue their spring trip at the Widener Triangular Friday at 5 p.m. Eastern. Catch the details at mbusabercats.com/composite.