February 17, 2023 | by Ashley Nerat

LEAD

ADRIAN, Michigan -- Maranatha fell yet again tonight in a 0-3 sweep by Thiel.

Despite the loss, Maranatha had their best-hitting game of the season, finishing the match with a total of 23 kills. Daniel Says and Jacob Valeria both played the largest role in that with eight and seven kills respectively on the night. 

OVERVIEW

• Final: Maranatha 0-3 Thiel (20-25, 23-25, 12-25)
• Venue: Merillat Center - Adrian College
• Event: Adrian Quad
• Location: Adrian, Michigan
• Records: MBU (0-17), TC (8-7)

STORY  

Even though Maranatha has still yet to put their first win on the board, the team showed great strides in their match tonight against Thiel College. The Tomcats started the match off by grabbing the first two points, but three early kills from Jacob Valeria put the Sabercats in the lead. The rattled Tomcats quickly found themselves trailing the Sabercats 6-9 after four errors.

But Theil was able to turn things around and went on an eight-point run to take back control. Maranatha could not find an answer for Theil's front line. The Tomcats' 19 kills helped see them to a 25-20 win in set one. 

While Maranatha failed to finish the job in the second set as well, they showed obvious improvement. They finished the set with nine kills and three hitting errors, the same as set one, but they did this with five fewer hit attempts. Of the nine, Valeria and Daniel Says both contributed nine apiece. The Sabercats fell 23-25 in what was a very close set, but they did, however, finish with a .250 hitting percentage which topped their opponents' .188 percentage. 

The Sabercats seemed to take a step backward in the final set, finishing with a combined 10 errors in hitting and serving. They had more errors in their final set than their first two sets combined, which ultimately led them to their upsetting 12-25 loss. While Thiel only put down 10 kills in the final set, their strength came through serving. They finished with five aces in the set.

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Maranatha Starters: 1- Smith, 2- Mueller, 7- Lacock, 8-Hoffmann (Libero), 12- Says, 17- Valeria, 20- Scott

STATS 

• Box Score
• Last time: This is the first meeting between Maranatha and Thiel
• Series: Thiel now leads the series against Maranatha 1-0

OPPONENTS

• Thiel competes in the Allegheny Mountian Collegiate Conference (NCAA lll)
• Thiel finished the 2022 season with a 10-18 record
• Thiel fell last season 0-3 to Penn State Altoona in their conference tournament

NEXT

The Sabercats stay in Adrian, Michigan for day two of the Adrian Quad. They will play tomorrow at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. EST Follow at mbusabercats.com/schedule.