February 26, 2022 | by Nate Croswell

LEAD

LA CROSSE, Wis. -- Maranatha struggled against two tough teams on Saturday, losing both matches 3-0.

Jordan Hoffmann led the defense with 9 digs on the day.

OVERVIEW

• Final: Maranatha 0-3 Calumet-St. Joseph (11-25, 18-25, 15-25)
• Final: Maranatha 0-3 Viterbo (11-25, 11-25, 11-25)
• Venue: R.W. Beggs, Sr. Gymnasium, Viterbo University
• Location: La Crosse, Wis.
• Attendance: --
• Records: Maranatha (3-15), Calumet-St. Joseph (8-4), Viterbo (8-3)

STORY

Calumet-St. Joseph: From the outset, the Crimson Wave jumped out to an early lead that continued to grow throughout the first set. Maranatha was forced to call a timeout when Calumet reached an 11-5 lead, but that would not stop the opponents from going on a 14-6 run to end the set.

The Sabercats gave their best performance of the day in the second set, keeping the score within five points for most of the set. But toward then end of the set, the Crimson Wave created a gap that would be insurmountable for the Sabercats to erase, taking the second set 25-18. The third set was not much different from the first as Calumet finished on a 10-4 run to win the third set 25-15, sweeping Maranatha.

Viterbo: The Red Hawks of Vitbero were far more potent that Calumet, as they came out and ran away with a massive 25-11 win in each of the three sets played. In the first set, the Red Hawks took control at a 12-8 score to finish with a run of 13-3. They went on a 9-0 run during the second set, and then finished off the final set on an 11-1 run to end the match.

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

STATS 

• Box Score: Game 1
• Box Score: Game 2
• Series: Maranatha and Calumet-St. Joseph have never competed in Men's Volleyball
• Series: Viterbo leads the all-time series 5-0
• Last Time: Viterbo defeated Maranatha 3-0 on February 1

OPPONENTS

• Calumet-St. Joseph competes in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (NAIA)
• All nine of Calumet's players are underclassmen, seven being freshmen
• Viterbo competes in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (NAIA)
• Viterbo is having their best season sine 2019-20 when they finished 14-9

NEXT

The Sabercats head to De Pere on Tuesday night to face St. Norbert at 7:00 p.m. Find details at mbusabercats.com/schedule.