February 27, 2023 | by Ashley Nerat

LEAD

ANGOLA, Ind. --  Maranatha fell this last weekend in straight-sets to Trine and Illinois Tech at the Trine Tri. 

The Sabercats look forward to their match tomorrow against Concordia University where they are hoping to turn things around and record their first win of the season.

OVERVIEW

• Final:
  • Maranatha 0-3 Trine (12-25, 12-25, 17-25)
  • Maranatha 0-3 Illinois Tech (14-25, 19-25, 15-25)
• Venue: Hershey Hall - Trine University
• Location: Angola, Ind.
• Records: MBU (0-22), TU (5-9), IIT (4-10)

STORY   

Maranatha once again came up empty-handed as they fell in straight sets at the Trine Triangular last weekend. The Sabercats started the day off against Trine, who had a fantastic match on the front line, finishing the game with a .427 hitting percentage. 

The Sabercats on the other hand could not put the ball on the ground. With only eight of their 55 attacks resulting in kills for the match, this was a key factor in the Trine victory. The Thunder dug up 30 balls, keeping the floor clean in the match and keeping the Sabercats to only two kills in the first set and three kills in both the second and third sets. 

Maranatha put up more of a fight in their second match of the day against Illinois Tech.  This time they finished with 17 kills, which is more than double the amount they compiled against Trine. But the Scarlet Hawks were still able to outdo the Sabercats on the front line, finishing with 38 kills in the match.

Despite Illinois Tech jumping to a quick 7-1 lead in the second set, Maranatha didn't give up and fought back to bring the score to just two points (14-12 IIT). In the end, the Red Hawks were still able to get the job done, but the Sabercats showed improvement, finishing with 19 points, their highest score on the day. 

In the final set, Illinois Tech held Maranatha to 15 points and put down 14 kills compared to the Sabercats' six. 

Titus Huston and Jacob Valeria led the Sabercats in hitting on the day finishing with seven and six kills respectively. Zach Mueller and Daniel Says did what they could to keep the floor clean, both finishing with six digs. 

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Maranatha Starters: 1- Smith, 2- Mueller, 5-Bellrichard (Libero), 7- Lacock, 12- Says, 13- Huston, 17- Valeria

STATS 

• Box Score (Trine)
• Box Score (Illinois Tech)
• Last time: Trine swept Maranatha 3-0 on Feb. 16, 2019
• Series: Trine currently leads the all-time series against Maranatha 2-0
• Last Time: Illinois Tech swept Maranatha 3-0 on Feb. 4, 2020
• Series: Illinois Tech currently leads the all-time series against Maranatha 5-0

OPPONENTS

• Trine competes in the Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League (NCAA Dlll)
• Trine finished the 2022 season with a 12-14 record
• Trine fell 0-3 to Fontbonne in last year's MCVL tournament championship semi-finals
• Illinois Tech competes in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NCAA Dlll)
• Illinois Tech finished the 2022 season with a 10-15 record

NEXT

The Sabercats travel to Mequon, Wisconsin to face Concordia tomorrow, Feb. 28, at 7 p.m. Follow at mbusabercats.com/schedule.