January 31, 2023 | by Ashley Nerat

LEAD

MADISON, Wis. -- Maranatha is still looking for that first win of the season after falling 0-3 tonight to Edgewood College.

Jacob Valeria was the top hitter for the Sabercats in tonight's match. He finished with 5 kills on the night. 

OVERVIEW

• Final: Maranatha 0-3 Edgewood (12-25, 16-25, 13-25)
• Venue: Todd Wehr Edgedome - Edgewood College
• Location: Madison, Wis.
• Records: MBU (0-7), EC (1-4)

STORY  

The Sabercats struggled to find any sort of a spark at the start of tonight's match against the Eagles of Edgewood. Maranatha simply failed to execute on offense, finishing the first set with only 12 points, with 10 of those points coming from Edgewood errors. Daniel Says was able to give his team their first earned point with a service ace and later Jacob Valeria landed the only Sabercat kill of the set. 

The second set had a better start for the Sabercats. Valeria put down another two kills with Tyler Lacock and Zachary Mueller both adding one as well. They finished 16-25 in what was their closest set of the night. The third and final set for Maranatha was a similar story. Valeria and Says both had two kills apiece to give the Sabercats their only offensively earned points in the set. The other 9 points for Maranatha were a result of Edgewood's serving and hitting errors.  

Only finishing with a total of 9 kills compared to Edgewood's 48 kills, it's obvious this is an area that the Sabercats will be looking to improve in as the season progresses. They will return back home for just a couple of days of practice before having to hit the road once more for the Judson Invitational in Elgin, Illinois. There they will have four opportunities to put some wins on their season. 

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Maranatha Starters: 1- Smith, 2- Mueller, 4- Harris 7- Lacock, 8-Hoffmann (Libero), 12- Says, 17- Valeria

STATS 

• Box Score
• Last time: The Sabercats fell to Edgewood 3-1 on February 14, 2022
• Series: Edgewood now leads the all-time series against Maranatha 2-0

OPPONENTS

• Edgewood competes in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NCAA-Dlll)
• Edgewood is in its third season as a program
• Edgewood finished the 2022 season with a 6-16 record

NEXT

The Sabercats travel to Elgin, Illinois for the Judson Invitational, Friday, February 3, at 11 a.m. & 2:30 p.m. Follow at mbusabercats.com/schedule.