LAKELAND, Fla. --- The Ave Maria volleyball was swept, 3-0, by Southeastern in Lakeland on Friday night. With the loss, AMU drops to 13-10 overall and to 1-6 in Sun Conference play.
 
After falling behind early in the opening set, 8-3, the Lady Gyrenes slowly chipped away at the Southeastern lead and pulled within one, 21-20, late in the game. Southeastern responded by taking the next three points to earn a set point. The Blue and Green saved three game points before Southeastern was able to take the set 25-23.
 
The Lady Gyrenes got off to a better start in set two, winning five of the first seven points to take a 5-2 lead early in the set. AMU was able to maintain a slim lead before a five-point spurt by the Fire gave Southeastern a 20-16 advantage. SEU won the final five points to take the set 25-17.
 
The third set was back-and-forth from the beginning before a five point run by Southeastern gave the Fire a 15-12 lead midway through the set. Southeastern used another run to close the set and take game three 25-16.
 
Lexy Smith had 13 kills to lead AMU. Marie Mendez added eight kills for the Lady Gyrenes. Veronika Garcia tallied a team-high 17 assists while Rachel Schultz added 10 digs.
 
The Lady Gyrenes return to action on Tuesday when they travel to Babson Park to take on Webber in a conference matchup. Later in the week, AMU heads to Fort Wayne, Ind., to take part in Indiana Tech's tournament.