AVE MARIA, Fla.- The Ave Maria University volleyball team won their fourth consecutive match on Tuesday night, defeating the Conquistadors of Florida National University, 21-25, 25-12, 25-20, 25-11 in the Donahue Academy gymnasium. Led by a school record 25 kills from Cabriella Bouterse, the Gyrenes moved to 7-2 on the season and completed a season sweep over Florida National.

Florida National took the first set from the Gyrenes, using a late surge to pull away. The entirety of the first set was tightly contested, with neither team leading by more than three points. Florida National's biggest run came with the match tied at 20. The Conquistadors proceeded to score five of the next six points, with a service error as the only exception. An ace from Aniay Rijos completed the opening set. 

Trailing by one set, the Gyrenes roared back with a dominant second set that saw AMU log a .600 hitting percentage. Ave Maria never trailed in the second set, scoring 15 of the first 21 points to jump out to a 15-6 lead. Bouterse added five of her record kills in the set, and a kill from Flavia Rusterholz finished off a 25-12 winner for the Gyrenes, which evened the match at one set a piece.

The third set was the closest of the three won by the Gyrenes, but Ave Maria did control the action for much of the frame. AMU began to pull away from the Conquistadors with a 5-1 run that turned a 15-15 tie into a 20-16 lead for the Gyrenes. The Conquistadors would get back within two points at 21-19, but the Gyrenes proceeded to score four of the final five points to take a 2-1 lead in the match. 

In the fourth set, Ave Maria continued to control the action, grabbing an early 13-5 lead thanks to a 12-2 run. From there, the Gyrenes were on cruise control en route to their second victory over Florida National in eight nights. AMU scored the final three points of the night, with a block by Lily Witkoski and Madelyn Haut sealing the deal.

Cabriella Bouterse had a record night for the Gyrenes, logging 25 kills over the match's four sets. The junior college transfer had eight kills in the first set, five each in the second and third, and seven in the final set. The native of Suriname logged a kill on 25 of her 37 attempts, good for a .541 hitting percentage. The effort broke the school record of 22 that was initially set in 2009 by Adriana Vianna, then equaled in 2014 by Hannah Wurster.

Zelie Kessler added to the Gyrene effort with 13 kills, while Rusterholz pitched in with nine. The powerful Gyrene attack was run by reigning Sun Conference Setter of the Week Lily Witkoski, who had 46 assists in the win. Defensively, Witkoski and Haut assisted on four blocks together, with Witkoski adding a fifth with Erica Chenard. Sun Conference Defender of the Week Victoria Schein was the game leader with 20 digs.

Ave Maria will play their final non-conference game of the 2020 season on Saturday against the Falcons of Florida College. Florida College enters the match with an unbeaten record of 3-0, and will host the Gyrenes at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday in Temple Terrace.