ST.-MARY-OF-THE-WOODS, Ind. – It was a historic day for the St. Mary-of-the-Woods men's volleyball program as they notched their first-ever winning season – in just the second year of the program – with a 3-1 victory over Aquinas (Mich.) on Saturday afternoon inside the Knoerle Center (25-19, 13-25, 25-18, 25-22).
The Pomeroys finished the season with a record of 17-15, 5-13 WHAC while Aquinas fell to 3-22, 1-17 WHAC. The Woods ended the year on a three-match winning streak.
Additionally, SMWC celebrated the career of senior Julian Green in pre-match ceremonies. Green is the program's first-ever senior and graduate. Green came to the Woods from Lancaster, Calif., and was joined by his parents Julie & Barry as well as his sister Bailey. Over his two-year career he recorded over 200 kills and 30 digs. He carries a perfect 4.0 GPA and currently works as a graphic designer in the SMWC Marketing Office.
The Woods were paced by Marko Zolnjan who recorded 14 kills in the season's final match. He also posted four service aces in the victory. Ethan Martins and Joseph Szadorski chipped in with three blocks each while Yammiel Martinez tallied a pair. Martins recorded 36 assists while Jalen Noveda had 14 digs and Manase Fetulimoeata added 13.
SMWC raced out to a 4-1 lead in first set and after falling behind erased the deficit by scoring the set's final eight points for the 25-19 victory. Fetuliemoeata set up set point with a kill and then took advantage of an Aquinas attack error for the 25-19 victory.
After falling in the second set, the Woods received blocks from Zolnjan and Martinez to cap a 3-0 run and take the 7-5 lead. Once again they finished strong with three consecutive points to win the set including a block by Martins for the 25-18 victory.
A pair of early 3-0 runs in the deciding fourth set, capped by a kill from Christian Green staked the Pomeroys to an early 9-5 lead. Trailing 17-15, the Woods scored four in a row capped by blocks from Martinez and Christian Green for the 19-17 cushion. Then tied at 21, kills from Christian Green and Zolnjan made it 24-21, and Szadorski finished it off with a kill for the 25-22 victory.
