MILWAUKEE -- The Sabercats showed promise but ultimately dropped the first two matches of the Blue Angel Bash today, losing to Rockford and Lawrence.

Eryn Bates delivered 25 kills, Emily Johnson served up 71 assists, and Erica Ureke saved the defense with 43 digs on the day.

OVERVIEW

• Results:
  • Maranatha 0-3 Rockford (20-25, 19-25, 14-25)
  • Maranatha 2-3 Lawrence (15-25, 21-25, 25-20, 28-26, 14-16)
• Venue: Bloechl Center, Mount Mary University
• Location: Milwaukee, Wis.
• Event: Blue Angel Bash
• Attendance: -
• Records: MBU (0-6), RU (2-4), LU (3-3)

STORY

Rockford: The Sabercats began their weekend matches against a tough Rockford quad that came out of the gate swinging. Rockford pummeled their way to a fast 11-5 lead before the first subs entered on both sides. The young Maranatha lineup remained resilient, however, as rookie Eryn Bates delivered with four kills in the first set alone and Emily Johnson continued to rack up almost every assist. But Rockford was able to stop them and took the first set 25-20. In set 2, Rockford continued to push, but five kills from Caitrin Kemlo and ten more assists from Johnson helped keep the set close at 25-19. By set 3, Rockford had built up momentum and cruised to a 25-14 win to sweep the match.

Despite the loss, the young Sabercats showed some potential. Johnson racked up 28 assists, Bates reached 9 kills, and both Kemlo and freshman Melanie Woller tallied 7 kills in the defeat. Erica Ureke provided some much-needed defense with 17 digs.

Lawrence: Coming off a tough loss, the Sabercats were humbled once again in the first two sets of the match against Lawrence. Despite the 25-15 and 25-21 losses, Johnson still managed to rack up more assists on the day in just those two sets, while Bates added six more kills to her total. Maranatha then battled back and took the next two sets in a back-and-forth struggle (25-20, 28-26.) On the offensive side, everyone helped contribute with five players tallying multiple kills in one or both sets, while Johnson served up 19 more assists for her teammates. But Lawrence was able to collect themselves and took the final set in another back-and-forth battle in a 16-14 victory, taking the match 3-2.

Once again, multiple Sabercats stepped up when called upon. Bates tallied 16 kills, while Johnson tallied 43 assists - two shy of her career-high for a single match. Woller also reached double-digit kills for the second time in her short career with 10, and Ureke led the defense with 26 digs in the match.

MBU Starters (combined): 3- Johnson, 8- Bumpus, 9- Woller, 10- Greene, 12- Banks, 13- Bates, 14- Kemlo, 22- Miller, 24- Rueb

STATS 

• Bates: 25 kills (career-high 16 vs Lawrence)
• Kemlo: 14 kills
• Emily Johnson: 71 assists, reaches 800 assists
• Erica Ureke: 43 digs
• Woller: 17 kills, 17 digs
• Rueb: 6 blocks
• MBU: 83 kills, 81 assists, 120 digs
• Last time: MBU has won the last nine matches against Rockford, all 3-0. MBU defeated Lawrence 3-0 in 2019
• Series: MBU leads the all-time series against Rockford 10-5. MBU leads the all-time series against Lawrence 2-1

OPPONENT

• Rockford University competes regionally in the Northern Athletic Collegiate Conference (NCAA DIII)
• Lawrence competes regionally in the Midwest Conference (NCAA DIII)

NEXT

The Sabercats continue in Milwaukee this weekend at the Blue Angel Bash. Follow along at mbusabercats.com/schedule.