Overview

• Result: Maranatha 3-0 Wisconsin Lutheran (26-24, 25-23, 25-9)
• Venue: Maranatha Baptist University
• Attendance: 287
• Record: Sabercats are now 6-6
• Next Game for MBU: Tuesday, September 19 at 7 p.m. vs Silver Lake

WATERTOWN, Wis. -- The Sabercats rebounded quickly from their home-opening loss to Judson on Thursday, as they recorded a stellar .316 hitting percentage en route to an exciting 3-0 win over Wisconsin Lutheran College this afternoon. Alexis Bueltel (12 kills, 9 digs) and Madeline Suderman (10 kills) were especially precise at the net, as the Sabercats held off a hard-charging Warriors team to move to 6-6 on the season.

The Sabercats seemed to have the first set wrapped up, as Bueltel led a mid-set surge to land the Sabercats a comfortable 19-13 lead. But the Warriors were on a mission and proceeded to concoct a 9-0 run to take back the momentum and a 22-19 lead. The Sabercats remained undaunted from that point on, however, and forced some errors from the Warriors which sent the match into a 24-24 tie. From there, MBU routinely snagged the last two points to wrap up the first set.

The second set held no such momentum swings, as neither team held a lead of more than 2 points once the set was established. In the back-and-forth clash, the Sabercats had a balanced and precise attack which featured Bueltel, Suderman, Gabrielle Carpenter, and Claire Hansel. Each one of these Sabercats contributed kills at key times to give the Sabercats the edge in the set. Katie Bender helped out the attack with precise defensive passing. Bender picked up 18 digs on the night and even added 6 assists to her name as the Sabercats were clutch down the stretch to pick up the win in set 2.

After two intense opening sets, the Sabercats were poised for their third consecutive sweep of the Warriors.

That sweep came soon enough, as MBU cruised out to a routine 25-9 win in the final act. Suderman spearheaded a set-opening 13-3 run, and the sister act of Bueltel and Karley Johnson help the Sabercats finish the day's work.

The Sabercats' .316 hitting percentage was their best so far this season, and Bueltel (.333), Suderman (.474) and Karley Johnson (.545) were especially effective in that metric.

The next chance for the Sabercats to grab a home win will be Tuesday at 7 p.m. when they host Silver Lake College. Find details of the game - including live stats and video - at mbusabercats.com/composite.