SAINT MARY-OF-THE-WOODS, Ind. — Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College volleyball closed out a strong opening day at the 2025 Showdown in the Woods – presented by the Terre Haute Convention and Visitors Bureau – with a 3-0 sweep of Culver-Stockton College on Friday evening at the Jeanne Knoerle Center. The Pomeroys (8-1) took the match by set scores of 25-15, 25-18, 25-18.

Behind a balanced attack, SMWC hit an impressive .379 as a team while limiting Culver-Stockton (2-2) to a .091 percentage. Masa Pesic led the way with 11 kills and a .391 hitting clip, while Natalie Knigga added 10 kills. Karla Melendez chipped in seven kills and three blocks. Setter Aden Britt distributed 17 assists and delivered five service aces, and Ryan Canter contributed 14 assists.

Defensively, Leishmarie Virella anchored the back row with 14 digs and added two aces. Selena Sosa and Melendez added support with nine and six digs, respectively.

SMWC won both of its matches on the first day of the Showdown in the Woods, also sweeping Boyce College in the morning session.

The Pomeroys return to action on Saturday with three matches to close out the tournament. SMWC faces Goshen College (Ind.) at 12 p.m. (ET), Great Lakes Christian College at 2 p.m., and Indiana University Northwest at 6 p.m. inside the Knoerle Center.