MILWAUKEE -- After an encouraging final match on Friday, the Sabercats came out with more promising performances on Saturday, but ultimately fell short in both matches.

Emily Johnson recorded a career-high 10 kills against Eureka College and tallied 37 assists, while Erica Ureke boosted the defense with 28 digs on the day.

OVERVIEW

• Results:
  • Maranatha 2-3 Eureka (20-25, 25-21, 23-25, 26-24, 11-15)
  • Maranatha 0-3 Ripon (17-25, 22-25, 15-25)
• Venue: Bloechl Center, Mount Mary University
• Location: Milwaukee, Wis.
• Event: Blue Angel Bash
• Attendance: -
• Records: MBU (0-8), EC (2-5), RC (8-2)

STORY

Eureka: Coming off an encouraging match against Lawrence on Friday evening, the Sabercats came into their match against Eureka College with high energy and challenged Eureka the entire match. After the Red Devils jumped out to a quick 12-6 lead in the first set, Maranatha pressured them with a well-balanced offense but lost the set 25-20. The balanced attack continued as they took a back-and-forth set two 25-21 and lost a close set three 25-23. They rallied with the match on the line and took the fourth set 26-24 behind Emily Johnson's 6 assists. Then, in the fifth set, Eureka was able to withstand the momentum Maranatha had built and defeated them 15-11.

Despite the tough loss, the young Sabercats continued to improve in the Eureka match. They continued to apply pressure on the opposition by keeping the sets close, never losing by more than five points in a set. Johnson tallied 20 assists and logged a career-high 10 kills. Erica Ureke led the defense with 12 digs. The offense was so well-balanced that Johnson was the only player to reach 10 kills, with Jennifer Rueb reaching 9 kills and both Caitrin Kemlo and Melanie Woller tallied 7 kills.

Rockford: After a close match against Eureka, the Sabercats faced off with the surging Ripon College, who ran out to a quick 7-2 lead. Maranatha battled back to tie the set at 8-8, but Ripon picked the momentum back up and ran away to an 18-12 lead. Despite losing the first set 25-17, they pressured the opponents and fought behind 10 assists from Johnson and 3 kills from both Bumpus and Eryn bates in the set, but fell just short at 25-22. With the momentum shifting further to Ripon's side, the Red Hawks ran away with the final set and defeated Maranatha 25-15.

With the struggles against a tough opponent and a shorter match, the Sabercats still made a strong showing. Johnson tallied another 17 assists, Ureke picked up another 16 digs, and Bates lead the squad with 6 kills in the match.

MBU Starters: 3- Johnson, 8- Bumpus, 9- Woller, 13- Bates, 22- Miller, 24- Rueb

STATS 

• Emily Johnson: 37 A, Triple-double against Eureka (10 K - career-high, 20 A, 14 D)
• Erica Ureke: 28 D
• Rueb: 11 K
• Woller: 10 K
• Bumpus: 13 K
• MBU: 83 K, 76 A, 111 D
• Last Time: Maranatha has never competed against Eureka College
• Last Time: Ripon defeated Maranatha 3-0 in the only match between the schools on September 4
• Series: Ripon now leads the all-time series against Maranatha 2-0

OPPONENT

• Eureka College competes regionally in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NCAA DIII)
• Ripon College competes regionally in the Midwest Conference (NCAA DIII)

NEXT

The Sabercats look forward to the Lawrence Invitational next weekend, where they will play four matches. Follow all the action at mbusabercats.com/schedule.