KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- The Sabercats' hopes of national glory have ended on the first day of the tournament, as a 3-1 loss to Johnson Tennessee tonight has eliminated the Sabercats from the national semifinals.

Maranatha will take on #5 Faith Baptist tomorrow in a de facto consolation match, as the winner only gets bragging rights and a winning end to the season.

OVERVIEW

• Result: #8 Maranatha 1-3 #4 Johnson (Tenn.) (9-25, 9-25, 25-22, 13-25)
• Venue: Kissimmee Civic Center
• Location: Kissimmee, Fla.
• Event: NCCAA DII National Championships
• Attendance: -
• Records: MBU (13-17), JU (21-18)

STORY 

After that loss to Bob Jones earlier today, the Sabercats looked disheveled coming out of the gate. Maranatha had trouble dealing with Johnson's serve early and with Johnson's hitters late, as the Royals rolled out to a big lead and never looked back, taking the first set by a 9-25 scoreline.

Johnson's hitters stayed hot in the second frame but Maranatha went basically quiet. The second set repeated the story of the first set, and not just in the score: Johnson put down 14 kills and five aces on the Sabercats, whose defense was searching for momentum. The score was the same, and so was the direction of the match - Johnson had the match right where they wanted it.

The Sabercats were swinging for their lives in the third set, and their game seemed to come to life just when it mattered most. Caitrin Kemlo led the charge with nine kills in the set, and a hard-working defense led by Marri Reid and Erica Ureke kept the Sabercats alive with a gutsy 25-22 win.

It seemed like the Sabercats spent all their energy in that third-set win, as Johnson found the lead early and never looked back, once again returning to the 14-kill mark to finalize the four-set victory and a ticket to the national semifinal.

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MBU Starters: 3- Johnson, 4- Reid, 6- Bailey, 8- Bumpus, 11- Ureke, 22- Miller, 24- Rueb

STATS 

• Kemlo: 13 K, 2 D, 1 B
• Mattie Bumpus: 10 K
• Ureke: 15 D
• Reid: 9 D
• Last time: Maranatha defeated Johnson 3-0 at the NCCAA DII National tournament in 2017
• Series: The series is now tied 1-1

OPPONENT

• Johnson opened the National Tournament with a 3-0 win over Faith
• Johnson competes in the NAIA and in the Appalachian Athletic Conference
• Johnson also competes in the NCCAA Mideast Region
• Johnson reached Nationals as the Mideast Region Champions

NEXT

The Sabercats will take on Faith in a North Region Championship rematch tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. EST to round out pool play. Details will be announced at mbusabercats.com/schedule.