February 5, 2023 | by Ashley Nerat

LEAD

ELGIN, Ill. -- The Sabercats left the Judson Invitational empty-handed after finishing day two going 0-3 in sets against both Roosevelt and Judson. Maranatha finished the invitational with an 0-4 overall weekend record. 

Tyler Lacock and Daniel Says were the leaders on the front row for the Sabercats on day two. Says finished with 14 kills and 14 digs between the two matches and Lacock added 11 kills on the day.

OVERVIEW

• Final:
  • Maranatha 0-3 Judson (11-25, 7-25, 12-25)
  • Maranatha 0-3 Roosevelt (15-25, 13-25, 19-25)
• Venue: Lindner Fitness Center - Judson University
• Location: Elgin, Ill.
• Event: Judson Invitational 
• Records: MBU (0-11), JU ( 8-3), RU (3-6)

STORY  

It was not the ending to the weekend that the Sabercats had hoped for. They were swept by both Judson and Roosevelt on day two of the Judson invitational, giving them an 0-4 finish on the weekend and extending their overall losing streak to 11. 

Maranatha started the day with a match against Judson. These two teams had just faced off the weekend prior at the NCCAA National Invitational where Judson defeated the Sabercats 3-0, twice. Maranatha showed improvement on their front line since the first match between the two teams. They doubled their total kills against the Eagles, finishing with 13 overall. Daniel Says and Tyler Lacock both contributed 5 kills to that number. The offensive improvement was still not enough to get the job done against Judson as Maranatha fell in three straight sets, never scoring over 14 points in a single set. 

Later that day, the Sabercats faced off against Roosevelt University. Maranatha put up more of a fight against the Lakers. The Sabercats led for most of the first set until Roosevelt went on an 8-1 run to gain the lead and later end the set with a 25-15 win over Maranatha. Unlike the first set, the Sabercats seemed to struggle at the start of the second. They quickly found themselves behind 6-20 after a handful of errors. There was no coming back from the deficit and Roosevelt finished things off 25-13. Maranatha cleaned up their act for the third set. Things remained neck and neck for much of the game. While a three-point run was the largest Maranatha would allow, that was all the Lakers needed to get the job done. The Sabercats fell in the final set 19-25. Despite the loss, the Sabercats finished the match with 16 kills, their highest number this season. 9 of those kills came from Says and the other 7 came from Lacock (6) and Zach Mueller (1).

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Maranatha Starters: 1- Smith, 2- Mueller, 4, Harris, 5- Bellrichard, 7- Lacock, 8-Hoffmann (Libero), 12- Says

STATS 

• Box Score (Judson)
• Box Score (Roosevelt)
• Last time: Judson swept the Sabercats 3-0 twice last week at the NCCAA National Invitational
• Series: The Sabercats trail the Judson series 0-7
• Last time: The Sabercats defeated Roosevelt 3-2 on February 12, 2022
• Series: The series between Maranatha and Roosevelt is now tied 1-1

OPPONENTS

• Judson competes in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference
• Judson also competes in the National Christian College Athletic Association
• Judson finished the 2022 season with a 25-5 record
• Judson fell 0-3 to St. Xavier in CCAC Tournament Championship
• Roosevelt competes in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference
• Roosevelt finished the 2022 season with an 0-20 record
• This is Roosevelt's third season as a program

NEXTm

The Sabercats travel to Cedar Rapids, Iowa to take on Mt. Mercy on Monday, February 6, at 7:00 P.M. Follow at mbusabercats.com/schedule.