FULTON, Mo. — The Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College men's volleyball defeated Westminster College (Mo.) 3-2 in a hard-fought five-set victory on Tuesday evening at Westminster Gym. The Pomeroys improved to 7-1 on the season with the victory, while Westminster dropped to 7-6.
The match, which featured dramatic momentum swings, saw the Pomeroys drop the opening set 25-22 but then rally to win the next two sets 25-9 and 25-18. Westminster fought back in the fourth set, taking it 25-21 to even the match at 2-2. However, SMWC sealed the victory in the fifth set, winning 17-15.
St. Mary-of-the-Woods was led by senior
Noah Boyett with 14 kills, while teammates
Christian Green (13 kills) and
Andrej Lindner (10 kills) contributed strong offensive performances.
Kristofers Klavins orchestrated the offense with 33 assists and also led the team with 12 digs.
Yammiel Martinez played a key role at the net with 5 blocks, and Lindner added 2 service aces.
The deciding fifth set saw numerous lead changes, with both teams battling for every point. The Pomeroys opened with a 1-0 lead after Westminster's service error but quickly found themselves in a tight battle. An attack error by
Charlie Harr and a service ace from Westminster's Luke Rohrbach put the home team ahead 7-6, but SMWC responded immediately with a kill from
Noah Boyett and key plays from
Yammiel Martinez and
Kristofers Klavins to regain control.
The score was tied at 12-12 following a pair of kills by both teams, but the Pomeroys powered through in the final moments. A critical block by Boyett and Harr on a Turner Derrick attack error put SMWC ahead for good at 13-12. The match ended with a final kill from Boyett, who teamed up with Klavins for a solid finish, securing the win 17-15 in the fifth set.
For Westminster, Dalio Taouil and Aidan Ortmann each tallied 11 kills, while Jake Schawo-McAlister registered 35 assists and 3 service aces. Defensively, Taouil and Schawo-McAlister each contributed 11 digs.
The Pomeroys will look to continue their early-season success as they head to the Culver-Stockton Tri-Match on Saturday, February 8. St. Mary-of-the-Woods will face host Culver-Stockton (Mo.) at 11 a.m. (CT) and then play Saint Ambrose (Iowa) at 1 p.m. (CT).
