SAINT MARY-OF-THE-WOODS, Ind. – It was a thrilling five-setter for the Saint Mary-of-the-Woods men's volleyball team on Saturday afternoon at the Knoerle Center as the Pomeroys were able to capture both the second and fourth sets in the back-and-forth match before falling 3-2 to Mount Vernon Nazarene (25-20, 22-25, 25-17, 24-26, 15-11).

The Pomeroys dropped to 13-10, 2-8 WHAC while the Cougars improved to 12-5, 8-4 WHAC.

Marko Zolnjan led the way with 18 kills in the contest while Manase Fetulimoeata posted nine. Brayden Baxter had three service aces. At the net, Joey Anderson recorded four blocks while Ethan Martins posted 33 set assists and Brycen Yadao had 11 digs.

Kills the match were knotted at 49 while each team recorded 11 blocks and The Woods finished with 24 digs.

In the fourth set, Andrej Lindner recorded a kill to get the Pomeroys within 15-14. After a point from the Cougars, Fetulimoeata recorded a kill and then Brayden Baxter had a service ace to knot the score at 16. Baxter came right back with another service ace and Yammiel Martinez recorded a kill for the 18-16 lead.

MVNU would tie the score once again but Martinez came back with a kill to push The Woods ahead 19-18. SMWC took a 24-23 lead off a Cougar attack error and broke a 24-all tie with another point to lead 25-24. Lindner finished off the set and knotted the match at two sets each with a kill for the 26-24 victory.

The Woods would trail in the fifth set before a kill from Zolnjan and a service ace by Christian Green knotted the score at 5. The Cougars ran out to a 9-6 lead, but Zolnjan scored on a kill and then recorded a service ace to inch close at 9-8. SMWC would get as close again as 14-11 but the Cougars scored the final point for the 15-11 win.

The Pomeroys are back in action and take on Wolverine Hoosier Athletic Conference foe Lourdes University on Friday, March 22 at 7 pm (ET) inside the Knoerle Center. SMWC will also face off against Lourdes on Saturday, March 23 at Noon (ET).