The Ave Maria University volleyball team finished their 2016 season on Saturday with a straight-sets defeat at the hands of the St. Thomas University Bobcats, 25-17, 25-6, 25-11.
 
The first set was the most competitive for the Gyrenes, as AMU roared out to an 8-2 lead. After trailing 1-0, the Gyrenes did not trail until St. Thomas went on an 8-1 run to take a 15-14 lead. In total, the Bobcats would score 18 of the final 22 points in the opening set.
 
Save for an early 1-0 lead in the third set, the Bobcats held the lead for the entirety of the last two sets to claim their 11th Sun Conference win of the season.
 
In her final game with the Gyrenes, Lexy Smith led the AMU attack with eight kills. Hannah Wurster followed with five, and Lexie Andric had three kills and seven digs. Lauren Ruby had 17 assists and seven digs, while Monique Rivers posted another seven digs.
 
St. Thomas' offense was led by Shanotta Bawek, who posted 12 kills.
Dana Nowaczyk had 31 assists, and Kelli Kosydor led the defense with
11 digs.
 
Ave Maria's season comes to a close with a 9-17 mark, including four conference victories. The four-win TSC slate marked the highest total since the 2012 season.