MILWAUKEE, Wis.-- Marnatha struggled to get going all weekend at the Mount Mary Autumn Classic. They fell to both MSOE and Luther before pulling off a tight 3-2 victory to Mount Mary. 

Kiarra Henkel was the strong hitter for the Sabercats, finishing with a combined 46 kills over the three matches. 

OVERVIEW 

• Results:
  • No. 9 Maranatha 0-3 MSOE (20-25, 8-25, 22-25)
  • No. 9 Maranatha 1-3 Luther (13-25, 30-28, 14-25, 12-25)
  • No. 9 Maranatha 3-2 Mount Mary (21-25, 25-13, 20-25, 25-18, 15-10)
• Venue: Bloechl Center - Mount Mary University
• Location: Milwaukee, Wis.
• Event: Mount Mary Autumn Classic
• Attendance: 81
• Records: MBU (14-14), MSOE (8-18), LC (9-19), MMU (5-17)

STORY (To Come)

Maranatha struggled with errors Friday afternoon as they took on MSOE. While the Sabercats did fine on the front line in sets one and three, hitting at a higher percentage than their opponents, errors in both serving and receiving set up their demise. They tallied 12 combined service and receiving errors in the two sets. 

The second set was a whole different story as Maranatha had their worst hitting game of the season. They finished with only three kills and had four errors, giving them a hitting percentage of -.045. On the other side of the net MSOE finished with a hitting percentage of .625 as they put down 16 kills with only one error. 

The next day did not start much better. Although Maranatha was able to prevent a full sweep, by pulling off a 30-28 win in the second set, they struggled to find any kind of rhythm in the match. They failed to reach even 15 points in their three lost sets, as they gave up 41 points in errors across the board during the entirety of the match. 

The Sabercats finished the invitational with a face-off against Mount Mary, a team they had swept 3-0 earlier in the month. But the Blue Angels took note of the struggling Sabercats and used it to their advantage. The teams battled things out through five sets before Maranatha was able to clinch the match. 

Kiarra Henkel and Megan Miller both played huge roles in Maranatha's victory. Henkel set a new career-high for herself with 25 kills in the match. Miller scrambled all over the court defensively, earning herself a career-high during the match as well, finishing with 32 digs. 

 --

MBU Starters: 3-Johnson, 7- Steuerwald, 13-Swaffer, 20-Malmanger, 21-A. Henkel, 22-Miller (Libero), 23-K. Henkel

STATS (three matches combined)

• MBU:
  • Day One: 29 K, 27 A, 39 DIGS
  • Day Two (two matches combined): 97 K, 92 A, 161 DIGS, 19 SA
• Johnson: 102 A, 28 DIGS
• A. Henkel: 33 K, 2 BLKS, 9 DIGS
• K. Henkel: 46 K, 27 DIGS
• Miller: 60 DIGS, 5 SA, 8 A
• Steuerwald: 10 K
• Swaffer: 15 K
• Last Time: Maranatha got swept by MSOE 3-0, on September 25, 2021
• Last Time: Maranatha fell to Luther 2-3 on September 10, 2022
• Last Time: Maranatha swept Mount Mary 3-0 earlier this season on October 13, 2023
• Series: Maranatha leads the all-time series against MSOE 50-12
• Series: Maranatha trails the all-time series against Luther 0-3
• Series: Maranatha leads the all-time series against Mount Mary 45-16

OPPONENT

• MSOE competes with Maranatha in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference
• MSOE finished the 2022 season with a record of 4-21
• Luther competes in the American Rivers Conference (NCAA Dlll)
• Luther finished the 2022 season with a record of 8-20
• Mount Mary competes in the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference (NCAA Dlll)
• Mount Mary finished the 2022 season with a record of 8-23

NEXT

The Sabercats return to Watertown, where they will face Mount Mary on Monday at 7:00 P.M. Follow all the action at mbusabercats.com/schedule.