LEAD

PLYMOUTH, Wis. -- Maranatha's 2025 men's volleyball season kicked off in full swing last Friday with a triangular match in Plymouth, Wisconsin between Lakeland and Trine. The Sabercats displayed almost an entirely new lineup, having only two returners from last years team. 

Despite sweeping losses to both Lakeland and Trine, Maranatha showed improvement late in the day with an 11 point increase between the first and second sets of their final match (6-25, 17-25).
 

OVERVIEW

• Final: 
  • Maranatha 0-3 Lakeland (14-25, 13-25, 7-25)
  • Maranatha 0-3 Trine (6-25, 17-25, 15-25)
• Venue: Woltzen Gymnasium - Lakeland University
• Location: Plymouth, Wis.
• Event: Lakeland Triangular
• Records: MBU (0-2), LU (2-3), TU (2-4)

STORY

The day started a little slow for Maranatha as Lakeland's Chase Anderson put down four aces in a row to play into his teams 5-0 opening run. The young Sabercat team struggled to find their flow offensively, earning 12 of their total 14 first set points off of Muskie errors. 

Maranatha started to find a little more rhythm on the front line in set two, with Isaiah Johnson, Yinghao Sun, Caleb Goetz, and Troy Jones all recording kills. But Lakeland was already a step ahead and was able to finish off the Sabercats in a 3-0 sweep.

In the Sabercats second match of the day, Trine came out swinging hard, securing the set early with 17-0 run to start things off. 

But Maranatha proved through the next two sets that they were not going to let Trine take the match that easily. Despite still falling in the end, the Sabercats finished with their two highest scoring sets of the day (6-25, 17-25, 15-25).  
--

Maranatha Starters:  1- Sun, 4- Johnson, 6- Goetz, 12- Bellrichard, 14- Jones, 17- McCarty (Libero), 20- Scott

STATISTICS (Two matches combined)

• Yinhao Sun: 4 K, 5 DIGS
• Isaiah Johnson: 4 K, 7 DIGS
• Josiah Scott: 13 Assists
• Last time: Lakeland swept Maranatha 3-0 on Feb. 16, 2024
• Series: Lakeland leads 6-0 in the all-time series against Maranatha
• Last time: Trine swept Maranatha 3-0 on March 3, 2024 
• Series: Trine leads 4-0 in the all-time series against Maranatha 

OPPONENTS

• Lakeland competes in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Congerence (NCAA Dlll)
• Lakeland finished the 2024 season with a record of 7-17
• Trine competes in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (NCAA Dlll)
• Trine also competes in the Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League
• Trine finished the 2024 season with a record of 19-7
• Trine won the 2024 MCVL Championship but lost in the first round of the NCAA Dlll tournament

NEXT

Maranatha returns to Watertown, Wisconsin where they will close out their season with a double header against Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College. The matches will take place on Tuesday, March 12 at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. Follow at mbusabercats.com