February 1, 2022 | by Taylor Pill

LEAD

WATERTOWN, Wis. -- The Sabercats started with conviction but ran out of gas late against Viterbo University, falling in straight sets at home.

Phillip Holbrook and Jacob Valeria led Maranatha with five kills each, but the V-Hawks proved to be too much, staying a perfect 4-0 for the 2022 season.

OVERVIEW

• Final: Maranatha 0-3 Viterbo (18-25, 14-25, 10-25)
• Venue: Main Gymnasium, Maranatha Baptist University
• Location: Watertown, Wis.
• Attendance: 97
• Records: Maranatha (1-8), Viterbo (4-0) 

STORY

The Sabercats started strong, harnessing the energy in the gym to stride out to a 10-3 lead to put Viterbo on their heels. But the V-Hawks weathered the storm and eventually caught fire offensively, putting down kill after kill in the middle of the set to grab a 20-17 lead and force Coach Micah Shepard to call a timeout.

From there, Viterbo's Jacob Nonn led them to a 25-18 opening-set win. Nonn would go on to post 14 kills on the night and two of them came in those pivotal late moments of the first set. 

That 18-point showing was as close as the Sabercats would come on the night, as the V-Hawks' firepower threw the Sabercats out of a rhythm for the rest of the night. Maranatha only registered 24 points in the final two sets combined, as they struggled to put the ball where they needed to for the remainder of the hard-fought match.

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Maranatha Starters: 2- Mueller, 5- Jones, 6- Rossiter, 10- Warner, 12- Holbrook, 13- Holloway (L), 17- Valeria

STATS 

• Holbrook: 5 K, 3 A, 2 D
• Valeria: 5 K
• Peter Holloway: 6 D 
• Jacob Nonn: 14 K, 2 SA for Viterbo
• Last time: Viterbo defeated Maranatha 3-0 on March 16, 2021
• Series: Viterbo leads the all-time series 4-0 

OPPONENTS

• Viterbo Men's volleyball competes in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (NAIA)
• Seven of Viterbo's ten rostered players are upperclassmen or graduate students
• Viterbo is a young program, competing for the first time as a varsity program in the 2018-19 season

NEXT

The Sabercats head to Plymouth, Wisconsin this Friday for matches at 5:00 and 7:00 p.m. against Lakeland. Details at mbusabercats.com/schedule.