March 13, 2023 | by Ashley Nerat

LEAD

ADRIAN, Mich. -- The Sabercats came up short last weekend at the Adrian Triangular. They were swept 3-0 by opponents Adrian and Hiram.

Jacob Valeria led his team on the front line, finishing with a combined 12 kills on the day. Zach Mueller ran the court, putting up a combined 28 assists. He finished with a season high of 18 assists during the Hiram match. 

OVERVIEW

• Final:
  • Maranatha 0-3 Adrian (10-25, 17-25, 16-25)
  • Maranatha 0-3 Hiram (19-25, 20-25, 9-25)
• Venue: Merillat Center - Adrian College
• Event: Adrian Tri
• Location: Adrian, Michigan
• Records: MBU (0-29), AC (12-7), HC (5-10)

STORY  

The Adrian Bulldogs were able to start of their triangular with another sweep of the Sabercats. Despite the losses, the Sabercats were able to show improvement throughout the games doubling their kills from the first set to the last. Tyler Lacock and Jacob Valeria both contributed four kills apiece in the match. 

Maranatha was able to improve their score by seven points from set one to set two, finishing with 17. The final set finished with a similar outcome as the second, and the Sabercats fell 16-25. 

Ultimately, it was the Bulldogs serving that put an end to the Sabercats. Even though Maranatha had a decent defensive match, finishing with 22 digs, they just couldn't seem to handle serve recieve. Adrian finished with an impressive 13 aces, five of which came from Chase Heuer who also led his team with 10 kills. 

The Sabercats put up more of a fight against Hiram, compiling 19 and 20 points in the first two sets. The game plan for the match seemed to be, set up Valeria. He finished with a .375 hitting percentage in the match, slamming down six of this total eight kills in the first two sets. Daniel Says and Lacock did what they could to help their team on the front line, combining for a total of nine kills in the match.

While the Sabercats worked had one of their better hitting games of the season, finishing with 22 kills, they were still outgunned by their opponents who finished with 42. 

Although Maranatha kept things close in the first two sets, the final set was a different story. The Sabercats just couldn't dig up the Terriors serves and attacks. Hiram jumped out to a quick 10-4 lead and just kept pushing forward. They finished the sweep with a 25-9 victory over Maranatha in set three. 

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Maranatha Starters: 1- Smith, 2- Mueller, 4- Harris, 7- Lacock, 8-Hoffmann (Libero), 12- Says, 13- Huston

STATS 

• Box Score (Adrian)
• Box Score (Hiram)
• Last time: Adrian swept Maranatha earlier this season at the Adrian Quad on February 18
• Series: Adrian leads the all-time series 5-0
• Last time: This is the first meeting between Maranatha and Hiram
• Series: Hiram now leads the series against Maranatha 1-0

OPPONENTS

• Adrian competes in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (NCAA Dlll)
• Adrian finished the 2022 season with a 7-19 record
• Adrian has already swept Maranatha twice this season
• Hiram competes in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (NCAA Dlll)
• Hiram finished the 2022 season with a 20-12 record
• Hiram fell last season to Geneva in the AMCC Conference Semifinals

NEXT

The Sabercats travel to Deerfield, Illinois to face Trinity Int'l on Monday, March 13, at 7 p.m. Follow at mbusabercats.com/schedule.