LEAD

WATERTOWN, Wis. -- Maranatha earned their first homecourt set win of the season in a thrilling comeback fashion, topping the warriors in set two 27-25. Despite the victory for the Sabercats, Wisconsin Lutheran was able to take the match 3-1. The Warriors swung their way to victory, finishing with 54 kills to the Sabercats 25.

Daniel Says led his team with nine kills on the night, finishing with a .348 hitting percentage. He also added nine assists and seven digs and four blocks. 
 

OVERVIEW

• Final: Maranatha 1-3 Wisconsin Lutheran (14-25, 27-25, 19-25, 13-25)
• Venue: MBU Gymnasium - Maranatha Baptist University
• Location: Watertown, Wis.
• Attendance: 65
• Records: MBU (0-16), WLC (2-11)

STORY

Tyler Lacock got the match rolling right away for the Sabercats with an ace to open things up. But after a couple of back-to-back attack errors, Maranatha handed over the early lead to Wisconsin Lutheran. Maranatha fought to keep things close, but the Warriors quickly pulled away after finding their spark on the front line. The Warriors recorded a whopping .543 hitting percentage. Sean Kane, who recorded eight of his teams 15 set kills, helped lead his team to an early 25-14 victory.

Wisconsin Lutheran continued to thrive in set two, jumping to a 3-0. They quickly found themselves in a game-point situation with the score 24-18. But in an exciting turn of events, the Sabercats had an incredible seven-point run, putting the set in their favor 25-24. The flustered were forced to call a timeout, which served it's purpose as they were able to stop the run and tie things up at 25. 

But the Sabercats were now in the Warriors heads and back-to-back errors awarded Maranatha their first home set-win of the season (27-25).

Unfortunately, Maranatha was unable to carry over that same energy into set three, giving up a 8-2 lead to Wisconsin Lutheran. The Sabercat front line fought to stay in the game, recording seven kills making it their best hitting set of the night. But the Warriors continued to overpower the Maranatha defense, recording 13 kills for themselves and earning a 25-19 victory, putting the match in their favor 2-1.

Set four was all Wisconsin Lutheran as they swung their way to a 25-13 victory, hitting at a .407 percentage. Chris Mann led his front line with six of the warriors 14 kills.

Maranatha and Wisconsin Lutheran will face off once more this season, next Tuesday when the Sabercats travel to the Warriors' territory in Milwaukee, Wis.

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Maranatha Starters:  6- Goetz, 7- Lacock, 12- Says, 13- Huston, 14- Nason (Libero), 16-Knight, 20- Valeria

SERIES 

• Last time: Wisconsin Lutheran swept Maranatha 3-0 on February 10, 2023
• Series: The series between Maranatha and Wisconsin Lutheran is now tied up 2-2
• Daniel Says: 9 K, 9 A, 7 DIGS, 4 BLK
• Titus Huston: 6 K, 13 A, 6 DIGS, 2 BLK
• Tyler Lacock: 6 K, 3 DIGS, 1 SA

OPPONENTS

• Wisconsin Lutheran competes in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NCAA Dlll)
• Wisconsin Lutheran finished the 2023 season with a record of 4-22

NEXT

Maranatha stays in Watertown, Wisconsin to take on Mt. Mercy in a double-header on Thursday at 5 P.M. & 7 P.M. Follow at mbusabercats.com