The Saint Mary-of-the-Woods women's volleyball team took the opening set 25-23 from No. 18 IU Kokomo and held a 15-12 lead in the second set, but the visiting Cougars ran off six straight points to regain momentum of the match. 
IUK held on for a 23-25, 25-23, 25-13, 25-16 victory to stay unbeaten in River States Conference play, while the Pomeroys fell to 17-3 overall and 5-2 in the RSC. 
"Very proud of the performance this team put out tonight. we started off so strong, which has been a struggle for us. Taking the first set and almost taking the second is a huge accomplishment for us. We took a set away from a Top 25 team and almost had two. Those are big milestones for us and it's a good match to build off of," coach Ashley Harris said. 
SMWC senior Hannah Zuege had five of her nine kills in the first set. 
Zuege put an attack away and followed it up with an ace to put the Pomeroys ahead 20-14. IUK rallied within 23-20 and 24-23, but the Cougars made an attack error to give the opening set to SMWC. 
In the second set, SMWC continued its solid play all-around, but the Cougars came up with key blocks to turn the tide. Mia Niekamp and Audrey Strawsma picked up solo blocks late in the set. 
Karla Melendez provided a second option, posting a .286 hitting percentage, but the Pomeroys overall posted a hitting percentage of .075. That performance was well below SMWC's mark of .192 during RSC action that ranked second to IUK. 
Morgan Krause posted six blocks, while junior libero Jocelyn Chavez had a team-high 18 digs. 
SMWC returns to action Friday at Alice Lloyd.