HUNTINGTON, Ind. — Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College women's volleyball opened the 2026 season in impressive fashion Friday, sweeping both Wilberforce University and Indiana University South Bend at the Huntington Invitational to start the year 2-0.
The Pomeroys won all six sets on the day, opening with a 25-23, 25-2, 25-13 victory over Wilberforce before closing the afternoon with a 25-23, 25-16, 25-15 win over IU South Bend.
SMWC 3, Wilberforce 0
SMWC overcame a competitive opening set against Wilberforce before taking complete control of the match.
After edging the Bulldogs 25-23 in the first, the Pomeroys delivered a dominant second-set performance, recording eight kills without an attack error on nine attempts for an .889 hitting percentage in a 25-2 victory.
SMWC finished off the sweep with a 25-13 win in the third.
Raimey Owens led the Pomeroys with eight kills, while
Kia Knox-Dawkins and
Luci Morris added four apiece.
SMWC was especially effective from the service line, finishing with nine aces.
Lily Richards accounted for six of those aces.
The Pomeroys also controlled the net.
Ailani Brito finished with a match-high five blocks, while Knox-Dawkins and Morris recorded three each.
Marianna Ayala-Ortiz led SMWC with 10 assists and added six digs.
Selena Sosa also collected six digs and recorded four assists.
SMWC held a 26-9 advantage in kills, a 9-1 edge in service aces and an 8-7 advantage in blocks. The Pomeroys limited Wilberforce to a minus-.292 hitting percentage.
SMWC 3, IU South Bend 0
The Pomeroys carried the momentum into Friday's second match, hitting .242 as a team and putting away 37 kills in another straight-set victory.
SMWC again had to fight through a tight opening frame, holding off the Titans 25-23. The Pomeroys then created separation over the final two sets, winning 25-16 and 25-15.
Karla Melendez Martinez powered the SMWC offense with a match-high 12 kills while adding eight digs and three assists.
Senior
Masa Pesic added eight kills, while
Alexa Orozco contributed four.
SMWC hit .297 in the opening set and remained above .200 in all three frames, finishing the match at .242. IU South Bend was held to a .120 hitting percentage.
Ariana Cruz-Gonzalez led the Pomeroys with 13 assists and added seven digs and two service aces. Richards contributed nine assists.
Leishmarie Virella anchored the defense with a team-high 10 digs.
Orozco joined Cruz-Gonzalez with two aces as SMWC finished with seven service aces compared with two for the Titans.
Sofia Soto recorded a team-high two blocks, while
Ryan Canter and
Ellie Kleve each contributed a block.
The Pomeroys finished with advantages of 37-26 in kills, 32-26 in assists and 41-37 in digs.
The two victories moved SMWC to
2-0 on the season heading into the final day of the Huntington Invitational.
Up Next
SMWC returns to action Saturday with two more matches in Huntington.
The Pomeroys face
Madonna University (Mich.) at noon before concluding the weekend against host
Huntington University (Ind.) at 2 p.m.
