CHICAGO, Ill. -- After an exhausting and exciting win against Emmaus the night before, the Sabercats had little time to rest as they traveled to Chicago for a triangular. They ended Saturday with a near-perfect day, beating Grace Christain 3-1 and Moody Bible 3-0, who are both in the NCCAA Midwest Region with Maranatha. 

Per usual, Arielle Henkel led her team on the front line with a combined 30 kills, while her sister Kiarra Henkel chipped in 28 while setting her career high of 17 kills in the match against Moody. Chloe Steuerwald also played a nice couple of matches, setting her career high in kills (8) against Grace Christian and digging up a total of 22 balls defensively. 

With the wins this weekend, Maranatha boosted their record to 8-8 overall with a 3-0 record over their Midwest region conference foes. 

OVERVIEW

• Results:
  • Maranatha 3-1 Grace Christian (25-14, 27-25, 26-24, 25-23)
  • Maranatha 3-0 Moody (25-12, 25-14, 25-13)
• Venue: Solheim Center - Moody Bible Institue
• Location: Chicago, Illinois
• Event: NCCAA Midwest Region Triangular
• Attendance: -
• Records: MBU (8-8), GCU (6-8), MBI (3-9)

STORY 

Grace Christian - Maranatha came out swinging hard from the start of the first set. With an early eight-point run, the Sabercats quickly found themselves with a comfy 8-2 lead. The Tigers seemed flustered early on as their errors on the front line outnumbered their kills, allowing Maranatha to cruise through the first set with a 25-14 win. 

But the loss stirred something up inside Grace and they started to come more alive in the second set. It seemed Maranatha was getting a little too comfortable as they held a 19-11 lead because the Tigers found a spark and went on an eight-point run to tie things up. This turned the tide of the game and the Sabercats fell 25-27, tying the match up 1-1. 

The next two sets showed a continuous battle from the start. Both teams were hitting over a .2 percentage in each set, but the Sabercats were able to find the floor a few more times than the Tigers, which led to Maranatha taking sets three and four, both by two points. Arielle Henkel was the hot target in the match, attacking 43 times and securing 18 kills. Chloe Steuerwald proved her worth in the match both offensively and defensively, achieving her career high of eight kills and recording 13 digs.

Moody - Early kills from Kiarra Henkel set things in motion for the Sabercats in their second match of the day. Finishing with a career-high of 17 kills and leading her team in the match, K. Henkel was unstoppable. 17 kills from the Sabercat hitters in the first set alone put things out of reach for the Archers and Maranatha took set one 25-12.

The next two sets told similar stories. Tessa Hinze put down multiple kills at the start of set two, helping her team in the early 13-5 lead. Maranatha clinched the win with a score of 25-14. And in set three it was A. Henkel who put down the starting kills that played a part in the 6-1 run. Maranatha finished the match off with a 25-13 win in set three, to finish the weekend off in a sweeping fashion. 

SOUND BITE:

"I felt very proud of the ladies," said interim head coach Mattie Bumpus. "Many in my lineup were sick this week and despite some still not feeling the greatest they pushed through. I also felt like our rotation is beginning to flow which excites me for the rest of the season."

MBU Starters: 

• Match One: 3-Johnson, 7-Steuerwald, 9-Hinze, 13-Swaffer, 21-A. Henkel, 22-Miller (Libero), 23-K. Henkel
• Match Two: 3-Johnson, 7-Steuerwald, 9-Hinze, 13-Swaffer, 21-A. Henkel, 22-Miller (Libero), 23-K. Henkel

STATS 

• MBU (Two Matches Combined): 89 K, 81 A, 107 DIGS, 8 BLK
  • A. Henkel: 30 K, 2 BLK, 2 SA
  • K. Henkel: 28 K (17*), 2 BLK
  • Johnson: 74 A, 3 SA, 15 DIGS
  • Hinze: 9 K, 3 BLK
  • Steuerwald: 10 K (8*), 22 DIGS
• Last Time: Maranatha swept Grace Christian 3-0 on September 26, 2020
• Series: Maranatha leads in the all-time series against Grace Christian 27-0
• Last Time: Maranatha swept Moody 3-0 in the NCCAA North Region Semi-Final on November 8, 2019
• Series: Maranatha leads the all-time series against Moody 41-10

*Career-High

OPPONENT

• Grace Christian competes with Maranatha in the National Christian College Athletic Association Midwest Region
• Grace Christian finished the 2022 season with a record of 11-15
• Moody competes with Maranatha in the National Christian College Athletic Association Midwest Region
• Moody finished the 2022 season with a record of 6-7

NEXT

The Sabercats return to Watertown to take on Emmaus in another NCCAA Midwest Region match-up, Tuesday at 7 p.m. Follow all the action at mbusabercats.com/schedule.