ANKENY, Iowa -- For the second weekend in a row, Maranatha was faced with a number of tough opponents. Although they started invitational by going 0-3 against opponents Randall, Faith, and NorthCentral, they were able to pull things together and finish on a high note with a sweeping win over Trinity Bible. 

Arielle Henkel was the strong force on the front line for the Sabercats, finishing with a combined 52 kills and 7 blocks throughout the four matches. Emily Johnson finished the invitation with 106 assists, 52 digs, and 16 kills. Johnson is now just over a hundred assists shy of reaching her 3000-assist career milestone. She now holds the number one spot for career assists on the Maranatha all-time record board. 

OVERVIEW 

• Results:
  • Maranatha 0-3 Randall (15-25, 19-25, 20-25)
  • Maranatha 1-3 Faith (18-25, 25-16, 23-25, 16,25)
  • Maranatha 1-3 North Central (16-25, 25-19, 12-25, 22-25)
  • Maranatha 3-0 Trinity Bible (25-20, 25-20, 25-11)
• Venue: Nettleton Courts - Faith Baptist Bible College
• Location: Ankeny, Iowa
• Event: Faith Classic
• Records: MBU (5-8), RU (10-5), FBBC (9-4), NCU (9-1), TBC (1-12)

STORY 

DAY ONE - Maranatha struggled to execute offensively against both Randall University and Faith Baptist on the first day of the Faith Classic last Friday. Although they finished the day with 68 kills, over a third of which came from Arielle Henkel, the Sabercats struggled when it came to hitting errors. They racked up a total of 47 errors in their attack attempts, compared to their opponent's combined 39. 

The Sabercats fought to keep from getting totally swept on the day and earned a win against Faith in their second set. This win came as no surprise with it being Maranatha's best-hitting set of the day, finishing with only two errors and 12 kills to give them the advantage over Faith who had their worst-hitting performance of the match with a -0.029 hitting percentage.

By the end of the day, Maranatha's overall record had dropped to 4-7 after a 3-0 loss to Randall and a 3-1 loss to Faith.

DAY TWO - Saturday proved to be a better day, with the Sabercats splitting their opponents for a 1-1 finish. Maranatha first faced off against a very tough North Central team. Although both Henkel sisters finished with double-digit kills, the Rams were able to outhit the Sabercats, finishing with 57 kills compared to Maranatha's 39. 

The Sabercats could not seem to put a block up against North Central's Hailey Lerfeld and Sydney Carlson who finished with 19 and 16 kills respectively. Despite being outhit, Maranatha fought to prevent the sweep, winning the second set 25-19 and finishing the match 1-3. Kiarra Henkel and Emily Jonson led their team both offensively and defensively. Johnson put up 29 assists and 23 digs, while Henkel put down 11 kills and had 18 digs.

The last match of the invitational was against Trinity Bible College, a team that has been struggling this season with only one win. The Sabercats were not prepared to add to that number and upped their game from the previous matches. They finished with their best hitting game of the weekend, finishing with a .407 hitting percentage. The errors drastically improved as they recorded only six in their 91 attacks. 

A. Henkel was the go-to for Johnson as she led in attacks and finished with 16 kills and zero errors. K. Henkel, Chloe Steurwald, and Tessa Hinze all added to the kill count for a combined 22 kills and zero errors. 

With this type of play, it was no surprise that the Sabercats took down Trinity Bible in sweeping fashion, finishing the weekend on a high note. 

MBU Starters:

• Day One: 3-Johnson, 9-Hinze, 17-Wright, 20-Malmanger, 21-A. Henkel, 22-Miller (Libero), 23-K. Henkel
• Day Two: 3-Johnson, 7-Steuerwald, 9-Hinze, 15-Bartlett, 21-A. Henkel, 22-Miller (Libero), 23-K. Henkel

STATS (four matches combined)

• MBU:
  • Day One (Two Matches Combined): 68 K, 60 A, 116 DIGS
  • Day Two (Two Matches Combined): 82 K, 72 A, 122 DIGS
  • A. Henkel (Four Matches Combined): 52 K, 7 BLK
  • K. Henkel (Four Matches Combined): 36 K, 43 DIGS
  • Johnson (Four Matches Combined): 106 A, 52 DIGS, 16 K
• Last Time: Maranatha defeated Randall 3-2 on September 30, 2022
• Last Time: Maranatha swept Faith 3-0 on November 7, 2022, in the NCCAA North Region Tournament
• Last Time: Maranatha swept North Central 3-0 on November 8, 2022, in the NCCAA North Region Championship
• Last Time: Maranatha swept Trinity Bible 3-0 on November 7, 2020 in the NCCAA North Region Tournament
• Series: Maranatha currently leads the all-time series against Randall 5-3
• Series: Maranatha leads the all-time series against Faith 25-2
• Series: Maranatha leads the all-time series against North Central 19-3
• Series: Maranatha leads the all-time series against Trinity Bible 5-0

OPPONENT

• Randall University competes in the National Christian College Athletic Association - Southwest Region
• Randall University finished the 2022 season with an 8-22 record
• Faith Baptist Bible College competes in the National Christian College Athletic Association - North Region
• Faith Baptist Bible College also competes in the Midwest Christian College Conference
• Faith Baptist Bible College finished the 2022 season with a 19-17 record
• North Central competes in the National Christian College Athletic Association - North Region
• North Central also competes in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (NCAA DIII)
• North Central finished the 2022 season with a 16-12 record
• Trinity Bible competes in the National Christian College Athletic Association - North Region
• Trinity Bible finished the 2022 season with a 9-13 record

NEXT

The Sabercats travel to Dubuque, Iowa to face Emmaus in a Midwest region matchup on Friday at 7 p.m. Follow all the action at mbusabercats.com/schedule.