HIALEAH, Fla. --- The Ave Maria volleyball team picked up their first win of the season on Friday night against Florida National. The Gyrenes defeated the Conquistadors 3-0 at Bucky Dent Gymnasium to move to 1-4 on the season.
 
Ave Maria hit .131 on the night with 31 kills and 18 attack errors compared to a .019 hit percentage by FNU. The Blue and Green won 25-22, 25-20, and 25-22.
 
Madelyn Haut led the Gyrenes with nine kills with a .533 hitting percentage. She also had six block assists and two service aces. McKenna Tyson added eight kills and a team-best 13 digs. Katie Grose paced AMU with 26 assists. She added a solo block and three block assists.
 
The Gyrenes came out firing and jumped out to a 7-6 lead after a service ace by Haut. After FNU tied the match at seven, AMU won six straight points on Grose's serve to take a 13-7 edge. Florida National responded with a six-point run of their own to tie the match at 15. With the match tied 20-20 toward the end of the set, AMU won four straight on Tyson's serve to take a 24-20 lead. AMU later won the set 25-22 on an FNU service error.
 
In the second set, Ave Maria used a seven-run spurt on Alejandra Suarez's serve to take a 14-7 lead. The Gyrenes maintained a several point lead for most of the set until FNU pulled to within four, 24-20. AMU again finished off the set on a service error by the Conquistadors and won the set 25-20.
 
The Blue and Green sprinted out to an 11-4 lead in the third set. With AMU leading 18-10, Florida National ran off five straight points to pull within three. The teams exchanged points down the stretch. AMU closed out the match 25-22 on a block by Grose.
 
Maya Krapf led Florida National with 10 kills and five service aces. Afraina Ammerlaan had nine kills for the Conquistadors.
 
Ave Maria returns to action on Monday night when they host Palm Beach State in an exhibition match at 7 p.m.