SAINT MARY-OF-THE-WOODS, Ind. — Karla Melendez Martinez recorded 11 kills and 10 digs as Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College swept Brescia (Ky.) 25-15, 25-12, 25-18 on Tuesday in the River States Conference volleyball tournament quarterfinals at the Jeanne Knoerle Sports and Recreation Center.
The Pomeroys improved to 39-1 and advanced to Friday's semifinals. SMWC will host the remainder of the tournament Nov. 13-14, with both semifinal matches Friday and the championship match Saturday. Brescia finished its season 11-19.
SMWC hit .317 with 47 kills and just nine attack errors while limiting Brescia to a .066 hitting percentage. Melendez Martinez hit .346, and
Masa Pesic added eight kills on .500 hitting.
Raimey Owens finished with seven kills without an error in 15 attempts for a .467 hitting percentage, while
Ryan Canter also contributed seven kills.
Lily Richards directed the offense with 21 assists and added seven digs.
Ariana Cruz-Gonzalez contributed eight assists, and
Ayiana Nieves had five assists and four digs.
Gaby Fernandez led the defense with 14 digs and added five assists, while
Leishmarie Virella collected seven digs.
Harper Ash served two of SMWC's five aces.
The Pomeroys broke open a close first set with an 11-2 run after the teams were tied at 9. Pesic contributed a kill and
Luci Morris delivered a solo block during the initial four-point surge, and consecutive kills by Canter later stretched the lead to 20-11.
Sofia Soto finished the set with a kill as SMWC totaled 18 kills and hit .359.
SMWC used another extended run to take control of the second set. Leading 8-7, the Pomeroys scored seven consecutive points, including two kills apiece from Melendez Martinez and Pesic, to build a 15-7 advantage. Ash added two aces during a late four-point burst, and Melendez Martinez closed the set with a kill for a 2-0 match lead.
Brescia trimmed SMWC's third-set lead to 15-14 before the Pomeroys answered with five straight points.
Natalie Knigga started the run with a kill, and
Kelstin Burnette and Owens added kills as the margin grew to 20-14. SMWC scored the final four points of the match, with kills from Burnette, Canter and Owens preceding a Brescia attack error that completed the sweep.
Knigga finished with four kills without an error, while Soto and Burnette added three kills each. SMWC collected 62 digs, including Melendez Martinez's 10 to complete her double-double.
Kendyn Syfert led Brescia with 10 kills, and Ashleigh Dearing had a match-high 15 digs.
Friday's semifinal schedule opens with IU Kokomo facing Rio Grande at 4 p.m. SMWC will face IU Columbus at 7 p.m. The semifinal winners will meet for the RSC tournament championship at 5 p.m. Saturday. All matches will be played at the Knoerle Center, and all times are Eastern.
