A program in its fledgling stages, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods men's volleyball went toe-to-toe with the No. 13 team in the nation Friday, falling 3-0 (25-19, 25-17, 25-23) to Indiana Tech.
The Pomeroys walked off the court with their heads high.
Mark Zmojdzin led the way with six kills, while Andrej Lindner added five. Julian Green, Yammiel Martinez and Christian Green had four apiece.
Connor Orrock led the team with four blocks and Martinez added three.
Jacob Wisniewski, who had 10 assists, led the team with two aces.
"That's a very talented team we just played tonight," Wisniewski said. "We came out and really competed with them. We were within five set points every single one. Mark and Yammiel both played great in the middle. I couldn't be happier with the performance."
SMWC started the match strong, forcing a timeout by coach Kyle Shondell of Tech with the score tied 5-5. Tech rebounded, building a 19-13 lead with its balanced attack.
But SMWC pulled within 21-19 before the Warriors finished off the opening set with four straight points.
The Warriors jumped ahead 5-2 to start the second set but SMWC pulled even 6-6 with a spurt that included a kill by Martinez.
Zmojdzin and Green added kills to keep the Pomeroys in contention at 16-13, but Tech found its timing to take control 21-13 before going on to a 25-17 win in the second.
In the third, the Warriors flexed to an 11-3 advantage. Zmojdzin attacked up the middle and Christian Green from the outside as the Pomeroys climbed to within 20-18. Consecutive errors by the Warriors allowed SMWC to pull even at 21.
Dylan Poore delivered a kill then an ace for a  24-22 lead and the match ended on a service error by the Pomeroys.