CHICAGO -- It wasn't the ending the Sabercats wanted, as the North Park University Vikings gave the Sabercats a straight-set loss in the final match of the season.

Derek Wallis concludes his Maranatha career with a 12-kill performance.

• Result: Maranatha 0-3 North Park (18-25, 11-25, 22-25)
• Venue: North Park Gymnasium
• Location: Chicago
• Attendance: 107
• Records: Maranatha (1-25), North Park (5-21)

Maranatha led the way early on in the first set, staying just in front of their hosts with a variety of contributors at the net. But a late 9-2 surge from North Park tipped the scales the other way, and some late kills from Daniel Porche and Frank Mauigoa landed a 25-18 win on the Vikings' side of the net.

The second set was more lopsided, as the Vikings swung their way out to a sizeable lead early on. As if North Park needed the help, Maranatha began to struggle with miscues as the set matured, giving the Vikings some unintended assistance. When North Park wrapped up a 25-11 win, they seemed to be on an inexorable charge.

But just like they have all season, the Sabercats put up a fight in the third set, recording a match-high 22 points. Wallis did his best to keep Maranatha in range, but even the efforts of the senior were not enough to make the Maranatha resistance pay off.

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MBU Starters: 3-Massey, 4-McKee, 5-Dafoe, 6-Rossiter, 12-Wallis, 13-Wagner (L), 15-Smith // NPU Starters: 1-Wong (L), 4-Porche, 9-Mauigoa, 13-Zavala, 15-Barczak, 21-Goo, 22-Nguyen

• Wallis: 12 kills, 6 digs in his final match
• Wallis: concludes his MBU career with a program-best 467 kills and 320 digs
• Joel Smith: 5 kills, 4 digs
• Dafoe: 2 kills, 22 assists
• Steve Wagner: 11 digs (2nd-best mark this season)
• Last time: Maranatha beat North Park in Watertown on March 8
• Series: the series is now tied 1-1

• North Park (NCAA DIII) competes in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin
• The Vikings will begin conference play in the inaugural CCIW Men's Volleyball season next year
• Coming into tonight, the Vikings were on a 10-match losing streak

A full recap of the 2019 season will be forthcoming at mbusabercats.com.