January 22, 2022 | by Taylor Pill

LEAD

PALOS HEIGHTS, Ill. -- Day two of the NCCAA National Invitational was a learning curve for the Sabercats, who took straight-set losses to #1 Ottawa and #3 Geneva to finish the tournament 1-3 and in fourth place.

The competition was rigid, as the Sabercats finished the day averaging just under 10 points per set. With the win in the opening game, Ottawa faces Trinity Christian at 2:30 today to decide the national championship.

OVERVIEW

• Final: #4 Maranatha 0-3 #1 Ottawa (7-25, 8-25, 2-25)
• Final: #4 Maranatha 0-3 #3 Geneva (15-25, 10-25, 16-25)
• Venue: DeVos Gymnasium, Trinity Christian College
• Location: Palos Heights, Ill.
• Attendance: --
• Records: Maranatha (1-3), Ottawa (3-0), Geneva (3-4)

STORY

The Ottawa Spirit showed why they've made it to the championship game three years running, as they came out swinging in the opening match - the Spirit limited Maranatha to single digits in each set of the three-set match.

The Spirit set up a big bloack that took some work to get around, as the Sabercats registered 23 attack errors and only eight kills. It was a different story on the other side of the net, as Ottawa swung at an inexorable 78.6 percent, putting up 34 kills and one error with just 42 total attempts.

For Maranatha, the loss meant their upcoming clash with Geneva College was for third place. For the Spirit, the straight-set win kept them perfect at Nationals - they've won three consecutive matches without dropping a single set.

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In the second match of the day, Geneva College looked hungry right out of the gate, posting 24 kills in the first two sets while limiting the Sabercats to just 25 points in the first two sets combined. The Golden Tornadoes' attack was balanced, as eight different men recorded kills by the end of the day.

For Maranatha, James Rossiter had seven kills while Phillip Holbrook recorded five. Jacob Valeria and Jared Fopma grabbed four kills apiece. Zach Mueller dished out 17 assists and Peter Holloway led the defense with nine kills in the match.

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Maranatha Starters (combined): 2- Mueller, 6- Rossiter, 7- Lacock, 8- Hoffmann, 10- Warner, 11- Fopma, 12- Holbrook, 13- Holloway (L)

STATS 

• Box Score: Ottawa
• Box Score: Geneva
• Series: Ottawa now leads the all-time series 2-0
• Series: Geneva now leads the all-time series 1-0

OPPONENTS

• Ottawa opened the tournament with wins over Geneva and Central
• Ottawa has qualified for the national final all three years, winning the title in 2019
• Geneva won earlier today 3-0 over Central Christian
• Geneva entered the tournament with a 1-2 record

NEXT

The Sabercats will travel to Marian University (Wis.) next Saturday, January 29, to take on Wabash and Marian. Find details at mbusabercats.com/schedule.