RIO GRANDE, Ohio — The St. Mary-of-the-Woods College men's volleyball team suffered a 3-2 defeat against Rio Grande on Friday night at the Newt Oliver Arena in Rio Grande, Ohio. The loss drops the Pomeroys to 16-6 on the season and 1-5 in the River States Conference.
The match was a tightly contested battle, with St. Mary-of-the-Woods securing the first two sets (26-24, 25-13), before Rio Grande bounced back to win the next three sets (25-18, 25-21, 15-7) and claim the victory.
Match Highlights:
The first set began with SMWC's
Kristofers Klavins serving, setting the tone for a back-and-forth battle. The Pomeroys took an early 1-0 lead on a kill by Camilo Murillo. Rio Grande responded quickly, leveling the score at 1-1 after
Christian Green's kill from Klavins. The teams traded points with several errors, including an attack error by SMWC's
Bentley Meyer, which gave Rio Grande a slight edge at 6-3.
SMWC continued to fight, aided by a service ace from Klavins that tied the game at 11-11, followed by a crucial kill from
Yammiel Martinez to give the Pomeroys their first lead at 14-13. Rio Grande regained the advantage after a string of errors, including a service error by SMWC's
Trevin Matsuba and a kill by Daniel Bedoya, making it 16-14.
With the score tied again at 19-19, SMWC managed a brief rally thanks to a kill by
Joseph Szadorski and a service ace from Matsuba, bringing the score to 24-21 in favor of the Pomeroys. However, Rio Grande fought back, capitalizing on two SMWC attack errors and a key ace from Maaz Khan to extend the set.
After a timeout, Rio Grande tied the score at 24-24 with a service ace from Khan. The set ended in dramatic fashion as Khan delivered the final blow with an attack error from SMWC's Daniel Bedoya, giving Rio Grande the 26-24 victory.
The Pomeroys started off strong in the second set, with
Tyler Duranceau's kill giving them an early 2-0 lead. However, Rio Grande quickly regained control, capitalizing on SMWC's errors and aggressive play. A series of attack errors from both teams kept the set close early on, with SMWC trailing 5-4.
Rio Grande took over mid-set, fueled by service errors from both teams and kills from Daniel Bedoya and
Tyler Duranceau. The Pomeroys' defense struggled to contain the offensive pressure from Rio Grande, as the RedStorm extended their lead to 11-6. A few key errors from SMWC, including attack mistakes from
Christian Green and
Noah Boyett, allowed Rio Grande to maintain their lead.
Duranceau and Boyett added some late pushes for SMWC, including back-to-back service aces by Duranceau, but Rio Grande's offensive dominance prevailed. The RedStorm capitalized on consecutive kills by Daniel Rivas and a kill by
Bentley Meyer to take the set 25-13, giving them a 2-0 match lead.
After battling through four competitive sets, the match was tied 2-2, with the final set being a race to 15. Rio Grande came out firing with strong play from Maaz Khan, who had multiple kills and a service ace that gave the RedStorm an early 7-3 lead. The Pomeroys struggled to gain a foothold, as unforced errors, including attack and service mistakes, piled up quickly.
SMWC's
Tyler Duranceau and
Andrej Lindner each had key errors that allowed Rio Grande to build momentum. Despite the errors, a few bright moments from
Yammiel Martinez and
Kristofers Klavins kept SMWC within striking distance, but Rio Grande's defense and control of the net proved too strong.
A critical service ace by Daniel Rivas pushed the RedStorm to match point, and with another error from the Pomeroys, Rio Grande sealed the 15-7 victory to claim the match 3-2.
SMWC will look to bounce back when they face Midway University on Saturday, March 15, at Noon (ET) in Midway, Ky.
