DUBUQUE, Iowa -- In a gym packed full for Emmaus's parent's night, the Sabercats and Eagles gave the crowd a show. Pulling the match out to five sets, Maranatha was able to defeat their conference rivals in a battle to remember. Arielle Henkel helped her team in the victory, by delivering the final kills in both the fourth and fifth sets. 

Emily Johnson showed she can do more than set, achieving a new career high of 11 kills and finishing with 20 digs. Kaili Swaffer and Tessa Hinze showed their strength on the front line setting season highs for themselves with nine and eight kills respectively. Megan Miller also set a new career high, finishing with 30 digs on the night. 

OVERVIEW

• Results:
  • Maranatha 3-2 Emmaus (17-25, 26-24, 22-25, 31-29, 16-14)
• Venue: Pollard Field House - Emmaus Bible College
• Location: Dubuque, Iowa
• Event: NCCAA Midwest Region 
• Attendance: -
• Records: MBU (6-8), EBC (6-5)

STORY 

It appeared early on that the match between Maranatha and Emmaus, two NCCAA Midwest Conference rivals, would be an exciting one. The two teams brought energy to the court from the very start, battling back and forth for every point. The Eagles were eventually able to pull ahead by just a few points, holding a three to four-point lead for much of the first set until they found a sweet spot and pulled away with an eight-point win over the Sabercats (25-17).

Emmaus thought they had Maranatha early on in the second set, after earning a six-point cushion. But the Sabercats refused to give in and fought their way back to tie things up 18-18. Once again, the team went back and forth before the Eagles were just one point away from a 2-0 lead over the Sabercats (24-21). But Maranatha dug their way out of the hole and a final block from Arielle Henkel gave them the 26-24 comeback win. 

The next two sets saw a similar story as neither team was ready to give up. While the Eagles were able to grab the 25-22 win in the third set, the fourth set seemed like it may never end as the teams continued to battle beyond 25 points. Once again, A. Henkel finished it off, this time with a kill, giving her team a 31-29 win to bring the match to a fifth set. 

Having been playing for over two hours already, there was no rest for the weary. Both teams slammed the ball down as defenders flew around the court getting any kind of touch on the ball they could. At 14-14, it was anyone's game. But two final kills from... *pause for drumroll*... Arielle Henkel put Maranatha on top with a 16-14 win.

MBU Starters: 3-Johnson, 7-Steuerwald, 9-Hinze, 15-Bartlett, 16-Nason, 21-A. Henkel, 22-Miller (Libero)

STATS

MBU: 63 K, 58 A, 113 DIGS, 7 SA, 5 BLK

• • Emily Johnson: 47 A, 11 K*, 20 DIGS
  • Megan Miller: 30 DIGS*
  • Kaili Swaffer:  9 K*
  • Tessa Hinze: 8 K*
  • Sarah Nason: 21 DIGS*
  • Kiarra Henkel: 11 K, 14 DIGS
  • Arielle Henkel: 21 K, 5 DIGS
• Last Time: Maranatha swept Emmaus 3-0 on October 4, 2022
• Series: Maranatha leads in the all-time series against Emmaus 12-1

*Career-High

OPPONENT

• Emmaus competes in the Midwest Christian College Conference
• Emmaus also competes with Maranatha in the National Christian College Athletic Association Midwest Region
• Emmaus finished the 2022 season with a record of 0-16

NEXT

The Sabercats travel to Chicago, Illinois for an NCCAA Midwest Triangular, tomorrow where they will play at at 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. Follow all the action at mbusabercats.com/schedule.