The Saint Mary-of-the-Woods women's volleyball team (10-1) has played 26 straight sets without dropping one after going 6-0 to claim the title of the Showdown in the Woods that included nine teams competing at Knoerle Center on Friday and Saturday.
The Pomeroys capped the tournament off Saturday afternoon in a nonconference game against fellow River States Conference foe Brescia with a 25-15, 25-20, 25-11 victory. SMWC also had 3-0 wins against Kalamazoo, Principia, Boyce College and Goshen.
Hannah Zuege had 13, tying with sophomore
Jadyn Dew for team-high honors, in the tourney finale for SMWC. Zuege finished with 46 kills across four matches played, posting hitting percentages of .571, .381, .320 and .458. Her 2023 season mark of .398 ranks 10th in the NAIA.
Zuegue was named Most Valuable Player of the Showdown in the Woods.
While Zuege's brilliant blend of power attacks and finesse stood out this weekend, it was her supporting cast that often stole the show.
Dew, who had played mostly in junior varsity action during her career so far, had her 13 kills with zero hitting errors Saturday for a .591 hitting percentage to go with her career-best performance.
"Going into this season I knew it was going to be very competitive with all the girls on the team," Dew said, "so I just tried to work as hard as I could this summer and I feel like I really showed that on the court today. (Setter) Lillian (Breaux) definitely did her thing today and I'm so proud of our connection. We just really gelled together. The whole team, the energy was just amazing."
Raymiah Allen, coming off an 8-kill performance with seven aces Friday against Principa, chipped in three more kills, two aces and two blocks on Saturday against Brescia. Allen finished the tourney with six blocks.
Other highlights:
- Sophomore Shirley Marina chipped in seven kills against Brescia.
- Alex Hernandez had 12 kills between Saturday's two matches.
- Freshman setter Lillian Breaux had a career-high 33 assists vs. Brescia and seven aces during the Showdown in The Woods.
- Freshman right-side hitter Masa Pesic totaled 15 kills in three matches this weekend, chipping in six aces.
- Jocelyn Chavez, who surpassed 1,000 career digs Friday, finished with 45 digs across 12 sets this weekend.
- Alondra Garcia had nine aces in four matches this weekend for SMWC to lead the Pomeroys in the tournament.
- Zulu DeJesus added five aces Saturday. The Pomeroys' 94 aces rank fifth in NAIA.
We're just playing really competitive consistent ball with contributions from throughout the roster. It just shows the depth and strength of our roster. We've got some great momentum going into the rest of the nonconference leading into conference play."
All-Tournament Team
Lillian Breaux, SMWC
Olivia Rau, Boyce
Neha Bandrapalli, Principia
Kyleah Ward, Alice Lloyd
Kelsie Hankins, Goshen
Anju Sugiya, Midway
Cora Baker, Columbus
Kaitlyn Orange, Brescia
Charlotte Ruiter, Kalamazoo
