GameCentral | Game Program
AVE MARIA, Fla. --- The Lady Gyrene Volleyball team will open their 2015 schedule on Saturday when they welcome Florida National and Coastal Georgia to Tom Golisano Field House for a tri-match with games beginning at 1 p.m.
Florida National and Coastal Georgia get things going at 1 p.m. followed by Ave Maria taking on Florida National at 3 p.m. Ave Maria and Coastal Georgia wrap things up with a match beginning at 5 p.m.
Live stats and video will be provided through the Ave Maria GameCentral portal. Rates to view individual games will be $7.95 per game or a tri-match pass can be purchased for $15 to view all three games. Live stats will be free of charge.
LADY GYRENES PREVIEW The Blue and Green return 15 student-athletes from a young 2014 squad that finished 4-21 last season. AMU also welcomes in nine freshman to join the one senior, seven juniors and seven sophomores returning.
The Lady Gyrenes return its top three kill leaders from 2014 in Second Team All-Conference honoree Lexy Smith (202 kills), Hannah Wurster (181 kills), and Lexie Andric (105 kills). The trio combined for 488 kills on the season and are also the team's leading block returners led by Smith who tallied 72 total blocks.
Jessica Schein returns as the teams assist leader, tallying 561 assists in 2014. Veronika Garcia tallied 207 assists on the year for AMU. The Blue and Green lost their dig leader from 2014, Mary Eckard, to graduation but return Schein (153 digs), Keke Smith (138 digs), and Monique Rivers (130 digs) who each recorded at least 130 digs on the season.
SCOUTING COASTAL GEORGIA The Mariners return all but three seniors from a 2014 squad that finished the season at 35-4 and had a perfect 23-0 mark against Southern States Athletic Conference opponents. Coastal Georgia won both its conferences regular season and tournament championship en route to their first NAIA National Tournament appearance. The Mariners are the preseason favorites to win the SSAC regular season title in 2015.
Returning for Coastal Georgia are some of the team's biggest contributors from last season including Cayley Meiners, a NAIA Second-Team All-American in 2014. Meiners finished last season with 1,551 assists and led the nation with 12.1 assists per set. NAIA Third-Team All-American Emma Anderson, who led the Mariners with 386 kills, returns for Coastal Georgia as does Rachel Amundson (334 kills), Allie Shannon (320) and Kara Neisen (291).
SCOUTING FLORIDA NATIONAL Florida National prepares for its inaugural season of women's volleyball under the guidance of head coach Carlos Huaroto-Luque. The Conquistadors will bring a young roster, including eight freshman, a sophomore and a junior to Tom Golisano Field House for Saturday's matchups.
