CLEVELAND, Ga. — Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College women's volleyball completed a perfect three-match day Friday, earning victories over Baptist University of Florida, previously unbeaten Brenau University and Milligan University at the Labor Day Bear Invitational.
The Pomeroys opened with a 3-0 sweep of Baptist University of Florida, rallied for a 3-1 victory over Brenau and closed the day by sweeping Milligan.
SMWC improved to 17-0, establishing the best start to a season in school history. The Pomeroys matched the previous record set by the 2024 team with their 16th victory before breaking it in the final match of the day.
SMWC sweeps Baptist University of Florida
SMWC began the day with a 25-20, 25-19, 25-21 victory over Baptist University of Florida.
The Pomeroys produced a balanced offensive effort while hitting .293 for the match. They committed only one attacking error and hit .455 during the opening set before completing the sweep with victories in the next two frames.
Sofia Soto led SMWC with 10 kills on 15 attempts, finishing with a .600 hitting percentage.
Kia Knox-Dawkins added seven kills, while
Raimey Owens recorded six.
Kelstin Burnette contributed five kills while hitting .500.
Ariana Cruz-Gonzalez directed the offense with 18 assists and one service ace.
Marianna Ayala-Ortiz added 13 assists, four digs and an ace, while
Alexa Stiff served two aces.
Selena Sosa led the defensive effort with 16 digs.
Natalie Knigga and
Daniella Zvonar collected 13 digs apiece, while Burnette led the Pomeroys at the net with five total blocks.
Pomeroys rally past previously unbeaten Brenau
SMWC overcame a slow start in its second match, winning the final three sets to defeat Brenau 14-25, 25-12, 25-18, 25-12.
Brenau hit .458 while holding SMWC to a .000 hitting percentage during its opening-set victory. The Pomeroys answered with 19 kills and a .364 attacking percentage in the second set to even the match.
SMWC carried that momentum through the remainder of the contest, holding Brenau to a .000 hitting percentage in each of the final two sets. The victory handed the Golden Tigers their first loss of the season and moved the Pomeroys to 16-0, tying the 2024 team for the best start in school history.
Karla Melendez-Martinez delivered a double-double with match highs of 16 kills and 16 digs. She committed only two attacking errors on 38 attempts to finish with a .368 hitting percentage.
Masa Pesic added 11 kills, while
Luci Morris recorded eight kills on 10 attempts for a .700 hitting percentage. Morris and
Leah Luevanos contributed four blocks apiece.
Lily Richards directed the offense with 20 assists, four digs and one service ace.
Ayiana Nieves added 12 assists and two aces.
Gaby Fernandez led the defensive effort with 23 digs and two service aces.
Leishmarie Virella collected 15 digs and added an ace.
SMWC finished with 47 kills, eight service aces, six blocks and 58 digs while hitting .246 for the match.
SMWC completes historic day with sweep
The Pomeroys secured the school record with a 25-14, 25-16, 25-17 sweep of Milligan in Friday's finale.
SMWC hit .311 with 43 kills and only 10 attacking errors. The Pomeroys improved throughout the match, hitting .394 with 14 kills and only one error in the third set.
Soto led the attack with 11 kills on 15 attempts and a .533 hitting percentage. Knigga added eight kills while hitting .350, and Owens finished with six kills.
Burnette recorded five kills without an attacking error, hitting .500 while leading the Pomeroys with four blocks.
Ryan Canter added three kills on five attempts and one block.
Ayala-Ortiz distributed 19 assists and added five digs and one ace. Cruz-Gonzalez contributed 16 assists, four digs and two aces.
Sosa led SMWC with 16 digs.
Sydni Gardner finished with 11 digs, four kills and one ace, while Zvonar collected 10 digs.
The Pomeroys held Milligan to a .080 hitting percentage and finished with a 59-46 advantage in digs and a 7-2 edge in blocks.
Up next
SMWC will return to action Saturday in Cleveland, Ga. Match information will be announced later on SMWCAthletics.com.
