WATERTOWN, Wis. -- After grinding it our for 17 matches, the Sabercats finally earned their first win of the season this afternoon, taking down Kuyper College in straight sets on Parents' Day at MBU.
The win came after the Sabercats battled the Emmaus Bible College Eagles in a three-set loss this morning.

The win was the first at Maranatha for head coach Lindsay Lawson.

"What a relief to get the win," said Lawson. "We've had lots of things to battle through on a daily basis, so this feels great and it was a breath of fresh air after starting with a really strong schedule. It feels like we got into a flow today. We watched some of the Kuyper and Emmaus match to get a feel for what Kuyper does, and we're making sure we have the essential pieces where they need to be so we can continue taking these steps forward. We've been stressing our communication and a teamwork mentality, and our leadership [did well] today and it was really goo to see it come through and get the win."

OVERVIEW 

• Results:
  • Maranatha 0-3 Emmaus (9-25, 16-25, 14-25)
  • Maranatha 3-0 Kuyper (25-19, 25-7, 26-24)
• Venue: Maranatha Gymnasium
• Location: Watertown, Wis.
• Event: Maranatha Triangular
• Records: MBU (1-17), EBC (11-4), KC (0-18)

STORY 
Four early kills from Tessa Hinze kept the Sabercats on pace with the determined eagles early on, pulling the Sabercats to a 7-9 deficit in the early goings. But the Eagles surged to a 16-2 run to end the first set in convincing fashion. The Sabercats would try to keep pace over the final two frames but Emmaus ultimately won comfortably in three sets.

Selah Gregory led Emmaus with 13 kills while Hinze paced the Sabercats with 8. Megan Miller had 10 digs and Eileen Botha had 12 assists for MBU.

The second match of the day was the Sabercats' high point of the seaseon so far. Ella Malmanger and Hinze led the Sabercats with early kills, setting the tone for the match, and Lilly Broere ultimately ended the frame with a kill to give the Sabercats the advantage.

Precision was the code word for set two, as the Sabercats earned 20 of their 25 points to take a heavy win and set themselves up for the sweep. The home crowd was behind them and so was the momentum.

The final set was a thriller, as the two teams stayed tight from start to finish. A huge kill from Malmanger made it a 25-24 advantage for MBU and a Kuyper miscue sealed the match. After grinding it out for 17 matches, the Sabercats finally had their first win of the 2024 campaign and another memory on the home floor.
 

HOME WIN HIGHLIGHTS ?? pic.twitter.com/ZvqeaZ1XzK

— Maranatha Athletics (@MBUSabercats) October 6, 2024

STATS

• Box Score: Emmaus
• Box Score: Kuyper
• Last time: Maranatha beat Kuyper in straight sets in October of 2012
• Last time: Maranatha lost in straight sets to Emmaus last week
• Series: Maranatha leads the all-time series against Kuyper 2-0 
• Series: Maranatha leads the all-time series against Emmaus 13-4

OPPONENTS

• Emmaus and Kuyper compete with the Sabercats in the NCCAA DII Midwest Region
• Emmaus is off to their hottest start in six years

NEXT

The Sabercats will host Rockford on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. Follow all the action at mbusabercats.com/schedule.