February 18, 2023 | by Taylor Pill

LEAD

ADRIAN, Mich. -- The Sabercats continue to test themselves against rigid NCAA DIII competition, as they took straight-set losses to Adrian and Central State to close the Adrian Invitational.

The Sabercats will look forward to their home opener Monday night, with a 7:00 p.m. start against Rockford - a match that was rescheduled from February 9.

OVERVIEW

• Final:
  • Maranatha 0-3 Adrian (12-25, 18-25, 11-25)
  • Maranatha 0-3 Central State (15-25, 13-25, 10-25)
• Venue: Merillat Center - Adrian College
• Event: Adrian Quad
• Location: Adrian, Michigan
• Records: MBU (0-16), AC (8-4), CSU (4-10)

STORY  

The Bulldogs showed once again why their presence in the Michigan DIII scene is formidable, as they held Maranatha to an 18-point maximum in another straight-set win. Adrian swung at a near-40-percent clip in the opening set, putting down 15 kills while holding Maranatha to just a dozen points.

Despite the setback in the first set, the Sabercats continued to fight, posting a match-high 18 points in the very next set. But just after the Sabercats hit a higher point in the match, they were limited to just one kill in the final set, as the Bulldogs stepped up their defense to win the final set 25-11.

In the final match of the weekend, the Marauders proved to be the hardest competition of the weekend, as they held Maranatha to an average of almost 13 points per set in a three-set endeavor.

Central State put down 15 kills in the opening set and held Maranatha to just 11 kills in the entire match, as the play at the net proved to be one of the key points of difference in the three-set match.

After a 15-25 loss in the opener, the Sabercats had a hard time dealing with the precise Central State hitters, who put down 20 kills with only four errors in the final two sets combined. In the final two sets, the Marauders held Maranatha to 23 points to pull away to the sweep. It was an up weekend for Central State, who went 3-0 at Adrian to be the top team of the weekend.

Tyler Lacock and Titus Huston led Maranatha with three kills apiece. Zach Mueller led the defense with three digs while contributing three assists.

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Maranatha Starters: 1- Smith, 2- Mueller, 7- Lacock, 8-Hoffmann (Libero), 12- Says, 17- Valeria, 20- Scott

STATS 

• Box Score (Adrian)
• Box Score (Central State)
• Last time: Adrian swept Maranatha last weekend at the IWU Invitational
• Series: Adrian leads the all-time series 4-0
• Last time: This is the first meeting between Maranatha and Central State
• Series: Central State new leads 1-0 in the all-time series.

OPPONENTS

• Adrian competes in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (NCAA DIII)
• Adrian finished the 2022 season with a 7-19 record
• Central State competes in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (NCAA lll)
• Central State finished the 2022 season with a 14-13 record
• This is Central State's second season as a program
• Central State won the SIAC Championship last season

NEXT

The Sabercats return to Watertown, Wisconsin for their season home opener against Rockford University on Monday, February 20th, at 7 p.m. This game was rescheduled from February 9th. Follow at mbusabercats.com/schedule.