AVE MARIA, Fla. --- For the second time this month, the Gyrene volleyball team snapped a 15-game losing streak against a conference opponent. The Blue and Green defeated St. Thomas 3-1 Wednesday night to move to 2-3 in Sun Conference play.
 
Ave Maria hit .163 on the night and had 50 kills compared to 37 from St. Thomas.
 
Similar to last night's match, the opening set was a back-and-forth game with 13 ties and nine lead changes. AMU turned an 11-12 deficit 17-14 lead after a 6-2 run. Erica Chenard and Talia Samuels each had a pair of kills in the run. St. Thomas responded and won four straight points to retake the lead 20-18. A 6-1 spurt by the Gyrenes put AMU ahead 24-21 and in position to take the first set three points later, 25-23.
 
The second set was all Ave Maria. Tied 10-10, AMU went on an 13-3 run to take a 23-13 advantage. Seven straight points in that span came off Katie Grose's serve with three different Gyrenes recording kills. AMU closed out the second set 25-16 to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
 
The Gyrenes led for most of the third set before five-straight from St. Thomas tied the set at 16. A 6-1 run by the Bobcats then gave them a 22-18 edge. St. Thomas forced a fourth set with a 25-19 win in the third.
 
Ave Maria went on an 7-1 run in the third set after the match was tied 6-6 to take a comfortable 13-7 lead. After St. Thomas cut the Gyrene lead to three, 17-14, AMU won four straight to take command of the set. The Blue and Green went on to win the fourth set, 25-21, and the match 3-1.
 
Chenard led the Gyrenes with 13 kills, a .500 hitting percentage, and five total blocks. Madelyn Haut added 12 kills. Flavia Rusterholz tallied eight kills for AMU. Katie Grose finished with a match-high 41 assists and seven digs. Miah Pena, Victoria Schein, and Alejandra Suarez each reached double-digit digs with 18, 12, and 10, respectively.
 
Ave Maria is back in action at Tom Golisano Field House on Saturday afternoon. The Gyrenes host Warner at 2 p.m. as they try to get back to .500 in TSC play.