Overview

• Result: Maranatha 3-0 Marian (25-20, 25-18, 25-15)
• Venue: Sadoff Gymnasium
• Attendance: 96
• Record: Sabercats are now 8-6
• Next Match for MBU: Saturday, September 23 at the Rockford Triangular

FOND DU LAC, Wis. -- Even without one of their key hitters, the Sabercats were untamable in their 3-set win at Marian University tonight. 

MBU overcame the challenge of playing on the road and without Madeline Suderman, as the Sabercats overpowered the hard-fighting Marian Sabres inside Sadoff Gymnasium. Claire Hansel, Gabrielle Carpenter, and Alexis Bueltel all stepped up with 7 kills in the match.

Karley Johnson was the key contributer in the opening set, as the sophomore registered 2 kills and 4 well-placed aces in the midst of a 9-0 mid-set run for MBU. The Sabercats would ride that momentum to hold off the hard-charging Sabres and win in the opening act by 5 points.

The Sabercats produced a characteristically well-balanced attack in the second set. Bueltel and Carpenter contributed 3 kills apiece, but the Sabres would not let the Sabercats gain any lasting momentum, as the hosts held MBU to no more than 3 points at a time. MBU chipped away at the 25-point mark, however, and found it while holding the Sabres to 18 points. 

The third set was the shortest-lived, as a diligent MBU defense - led by Bueltel, Katie Bender and Kelsey Johnson - limited Marian to 15 points. A determined Hansel led the way for the Sabercats' attack, as the freshman posted 4 total kills, including 2 key kills late on to seal the set and the match.

Dating back to 2012, Maranatha has now won each of their previous 6 matches against Marian. 

The Sabercats' next matches will be Saturday at the Rockford University Triangular in Rockford, Illinois. MBU will face the Rockford Regents at 10 a.m. and the Scarlet Hawks of Illinois Tech at 12 p.m. Catch the details at mbusabercats.com/composite.