Saint Mary-of-the-Woods women's volleyball improved to 6-0 after two dominant performances Saturday to close the inaugural Showdown in The Woods with a 4-0 mark to win the five-team round-robin tournament in the Knoerle Center.
   SMWC cruised to a 25-23, 25-15, 25-17 win against Peru State (4-4) as Jazilyn Davis led a balanced offensive attack with five kills and followed that up with a 25-16, 25-17, 25-8 win over Eureka College. Hannah Zuege racked up 13 kills on a .684 hitting percentage to lead the offense. Shirley Marina chipped in seven kills and Davis added six.
   SMWC picked up a pair of 3-1 wins Friday evening against Maine Fort Kent and Grace Christian to open the tournament.
   "Yesterday, we started off just a little rocky; we just weren't going over that next level," coach Ashley Harris said. "We really wanted to focus on finishing through our passes and through our swings and I feel like today's match we really did that. We had a different presence and just more focused. We were just all bringing it at the same time and it was a lot of fun to watch."
 
NOTABLES

• Davis' performance was a big boost. The freshman totaled 11 kills Friday in addition to the 13 on Saturday.

    "When she's on the court she's just loud and just out there and a lot of teams just see her. Not only does she have a fantastic swing, her block and her presence overall," Harris said.

• Senior co-captain Katelyn Bucy made her first start of the season Friday against Grace Christian after dealing with an ankle injury that caused her to miss the first two games of the season. Bucy delivered with 21 assists and a team-best four of the team's 13 aces in the match. Bucy followed that up with 10 assists and four digs against Peru State on Saturday.

   "It's good to be back out there. It's been hard not being able to be on the court. We've got some weapons on this team," Bucy said.

• Zuege had a total of 49 kills in the four matches this weekend, but she likes what she sees from the influx of talent on the team. Freshmen such as Davis, Shirley Marina, Raymiah Allen, Holly Linville and junior transfer Amber Doyle were all impressive at times.

"The way we played today was a good way to show who we are and what we're about. We played as one all the way through and we didn't play as individuals and it paid off," Zuege said. "We have a ton of talent and can spread that out as much as we want. When it all comes together, it's this beautiful picture, we've been wanting to have."

• SMWC is averaging 3.5 aces per set, which ranks among the top 10 in the NAIA stats rankings. Zuluraim de Jesus and Jade Llamas lead the team with 14 aces apiece.

UP NEXT
   SMWC travels to play Iowa Wesleyan and Waldorf next Saturday.