MILWAUKEE -- After opening the tournament with a win, the Sabercats split their two matches on Saturday with a sweep of Mount Mary and a quick loss to MSOE.

In the win, Emily Johnson recorded her 1000th career assist. And she's only a sophomore.

OVERVIEW

• Results:
  • Maranatha 3-0 Mount Mary (25-7, 25-23, 29-27)
  • Maranatha 0-3 MSOE (16-25, 24-26, 15-25)
• Venue: Bloechl Center, Mount Mary University
• Location: Milwaukee, Wis.
• Event: MSOE Invitational
• Attendance: 0
• Records: MBU (5-10), MMU (3-12), MSOE (10-6)

STORY

Mount Mary: Coming off their third straight win on Friday evening, the Sabercats steamrolled into their first set with Mount Mary in a dominant 25-7 win. Kills from Mattie Bumpus and Melanie Woller racked up the score before the Blue Angels could recover. With such a lopsided score, Maranatha relaxed a bit too much for the second set and saw Mount Mary rally to keep the set in a back-and-forth tug. Twice in the second set, the Sabercats found themselves trailing. But clutch kills from Bumpus and Caitrin Kemlo helped them win the second set by a narrow 25-23 margin.

The third set was even more frightening as the Blue Angels were able to push the Sabercats to the brink, holding the lead to less than two points for nearly the entire set. Mount Mary fought all the way to a 27-27 tie, but Maranatha held on and forced the opponents to make mistakes to take the final set 29-27, making their winning streak reach four games.

To highlight such a tight match was the achievement of 1000 career assists for sophomore Emily Johnson, who needed only 16 to reach the mark. She ended the match with 23 assists, pushing her beyond the needed mark for an incredible milestone. Johnson also led the defense with 14 digs, followed closely by Erica Ureke with 13 digs. Bumpus tallied 11 kills and Kemlo racked up 9 kills to carry the offense through the difficult match.

⭐️ Emily Johnson has passed 1,000 career assists and she's just getting started!

Congrats, Emily! �� pic.twitter.com/TdxO1rg9s6

— Maranatha Athletics (@MBUSabercats) September 25, 2021

MSOE: After such an unanticipated difficult match against Mount Mary, the Sabercats quickly found themselves outgunned by the tough MSOE squad. Despite several kills from Kemlo and Woller, the Raiders took the first set 25-16. The second set proved to be more competitive, with Bumpus, Kemlo, and freshman Eryn Bates delivering some key points throughout the set. However, MSOE walked away with a narrow 26-24 win, then went on to take the third set 25-15 to finish off the sweep, cutting the Sabercats win streak short at four games.

In the loss, Johnson continued to shine in her role, racking up another 22 assists. Ureke converted another 11 digs to bolster the defense. Bumpus tallied another 11 kills, following up her career-high 20 on Friday night with 22 between the two matches on Saturday. Woller walked away with 9 kills between the two matches, while Bates continued to grow with 8 kills on the day.

For her top-notch performance, Bumpus was named to the all-tournament team with 42 kills on the weekend.

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MBU Starters (combined): 3- Johnson, 6- Bailey, 8- Bumpus, 9- Woller, 13- Bates, 14- Kemlo, 22- Miller, 24- Rueb

STATS 

• Johnson: 45 assists, reached 1000 assists against MMU
• Bumpus: 22 kills
• Ureke: 24 digs
• Kemlo: 16 kills
• MBU: 62 kills, 54 assists, 75 digs
• Last time: Maranatha defeated Mount Mary 3-0 on September 17. MSOE defeated Maranatha 3-0 on September 17
• Series: MBU leads the all-time series against Mount Mary 36-15. MBU leads the all-time series against MSOE 50-11

OPPONENT

• Mount Mary competes in the Northern Athletic Collegiate Conference (NCAA DIII)
• MSOE competes in the Northern Athletic Collegiate Conference (NCAA DIII)

NEXT

The Sabercats move on to Beloit, Wisconsin to face Beloit on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. Follow along at mbusabercats.com/schedule.