LEAD

MEQUON, Wis. -- After a couple of program records and a five-set win over Millikin, the Sabercats have finished this weekend with their heads held high.

A 2-1 showing at the CUW Tournament was highlighted with a 24-kill performance from Phillip Holbrook and 48-assist showing from Taylor Dafoe - both of which are program records for this young and promising team.

OVERVIEW

• Results: 
  • Maranatha 3-2 Millikin (25-21, 23-25, 25-27, 25-17, 15-13)
  • Maranatha 0-3 Concordia Wisconsin (21-25, 21-25, 23-25)
• Venue: R. John Buuck Field House, Concordia-Wisconsin
• Location: Mequon, Wis.
• Attendance: 38, 188
• Records: MBU (3-7), MU (0-4), CUW (4-2)

STORY

Millikin: The Sabercats had a lot to celebrate in the first match of the day, but the celebrations came after enduring a two-hour-plus battle with the Big Blue. Maranatha came out swinging in the first set, deploying a balanced attack led by James Rossiter and Joel Depue, and the Sabercats had to hold off Milliking the entire way, eventually winning by four points in a crazy opening set.

Despite losing the opening frame, the Big Blue's resolve was noticeable over the next two sets. Millikin put down 30 kills in the next two frames combined, which culminated in a 2-1 advantage in the match after beating MBU 23-25 and 25-27. 

Millikin may have had the lead, but the match was anything but one-sided.

MBU responded in the best way possible to those two losses by taking the fourth set 25-17. Maranatha set up a determined block and kept Millikin out of the lead, as five of the 10 attack errors from Millikin were times when they were stuffed. Fittingly, the match needed five sets.

When the game was on the line, Holbrook stepped up. The first-year guy smacked down three kills in the middle of the set to fuel a big run for MBU - one that would ultimately decide the match and give a fitting result to a program-record day. Holbrook's 24-kill performance was the high mark for everyone, Dafoe made it easy for the attack with his 48 assists, Rossiter contributed eight blocks, and MBU had five different people with double-digit digs in a well-rounded, hard-earned, gritty team win.

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Concordia-Wisconsin: When the Sabercats had to quickly regroup for another match immediately following that two-hour-plus marathon, it was always going to be an uphill battle. And sure enough, the matchup against the hosts (Concordia-Wisconsin) was anything but easy.

But with full credit to the Sabercats, they made the match interesting by posting at least 20 points in each of the three sets. The Sabercats had the 20-19 lead in a tight opening set, but five late kills from the hosts took the wind out of the Sabercats' sails and decided the opening match by a score of 25-21. One thing was clear: the Sabercats were making the Falcons earn their keep.

The final two sets held similar storylines in that the Falcons grabbed early leads and had to hold off some determined play from MBU. In this match, the two teams were evenly matched in almost every way, but that extra bit of freshness from CUW seemed to be what ultimately decided the outcome of the final match of the weekend.

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MBU Starters: 3- Massey, 4- McKee, 5- Dafoe, 6- Rossiter, 8- Depue, 12-Holbrook, 13- Wagner (L), 15- Smith

STATS (two-match totals)

• Holbrook: 35 K, 5 B
• Holbrook: Program-record 24 kills edges a 23-kill total from Derek Wallis, which came in a four-set match
• Dafoe: 73 A, 26 D
• Dafoe: 48 A vs Millikin - a program record
• Dafoe: 16 D vs Millikin - a career-high
• Rossiter: 18 K, 11 B
• Rossiter: career-high 8 B vs Millikin
• Depue: 15 K, 23 D
• Rory Massey: career-high 12 digs vs Millikin
• Steve Wagner: tied his career-high of 13 digs vs Millikin
• MBU: had five student-athletes with double-digit digs against Millikin
• Series: Maranatha leads the Millikin series 1-0
• Series: The Maranatha-CUW series is now tied at 2

OPPONENTS

• Millikin competes in the Collegiate Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (NCAA DIII)
• Concordia-Wisconsin competes in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NCAA DIII)

NEXT

The Sabercats will travel to Chicago to take on Illinois Tech on Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. Stay updated at mbusabercats.com/schedule.