MILWAUKEE, Wis. -- The Sabercats kept things rolling with another 3-0 sweep last night against Alverno, giving them a three-game win streak. 

Emily Johnson made an impact in every area on the court, finishing with 26 assists, 13 digs, 6 kills, and 1 ace. Arielle Henkel was the hot hitter once again, finishing with 13 kills on the night. Chloe Steuerwald got the job done on defense, leading the Sabercats with 15 digs.

OVERVIEW

• Results:
  • Maranatha 3-0 Alverno (25-18, 25-22, 25-20)
• Venue: Reiman Gymnasium - Alverno College
• Location: Milwaukee, Wis.
• Attendance: 45
• Records: MBU (11-9), AC (1-15)

STORY (TO COME)

Coming into the game with two sweeping wins from last Saturday, Maranatha was feeling ready. They got things going quickly with a double block from Arielle Henkel and Chloe Steuerwald to start the game, followed by a pair of kills from A. Henkel and Kaili Swaffer. 

The momentum was set early for the Sabercats who grabbed a 10-1 lead in the first set. Despite working to close the deficit, the Inferno were already too far behind and fell to Maranatha 25-18, starting the night. 

Maranatha took another early lead in the second set after going on a five-point run to set the score at 9-3. But unlike the first set, Alverno was able to climb their way back to stay in the game. With both teams recording 11 kills in the set, the deciding factor came down to errors. It was Maranatha who played a cleaner set, winning by a score of 25-22.

Alverno was able to clean things up in the third, attacking at their best rate of the night. They finished with 15 kills, two more than Maranatha. But while the Sabercats may not have finished as many attacks for kills, they were able to play a clean set with zero hitting errors. The Inferno, however, handed over six points to the Sabercats in hitting errors alone. Maranatha finished the night with a 25-20 for the clean sweep. 

For the third match in a row, Maranatha has been impressive from the service line. They finished the night with 11 aces and only two errors. Nine of these aces came from Megan Miller (5) and Sarah Nason (4). Nason, a freshman, has been proving to be very dangerous on the service line, as she single-handily recorded 10 aces in last Saturday's matches against Moody. 

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MBU Starters: 3-Johnson, 7-Steuerwald, 9-Hinze, 13-Swaffer, 21-A. Henkel, 22-Miller (Libero), 23-K. Henkel

STATS 

• MBU: 35 K, 34 A, 61 DIGS, 11 SA, 5 BLK
• Johnson: 6 K, 26 A, 13 DIGS, 1 SA
• Steuerwald: 3 K, 3 A, 15 DIGS
• K. Henkel: 10 K, 3 BLK, 9 DIGS
• A. Henkel: 13 K, 2 BLK
• Miller: 3 A, 11 DIGS, 5 SA
• Nason: 4 SA, 7 DIGS
• Last Time: Maranatha swept Alverno 3-0 earlier this season on September 12
• Series: Maranatha leads the all-time series against Alverno 28-1

OPPONENT

• Alverno competes regionally in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NCAA Dlll)
• Alverno finished the 2022 season with a 5-20 record

NEXT

The Sabercats travel to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to face Mount Mary, on Friday at 5:00 p.m. Follow all the action at mbusabercats.com/schedule.