AVE MARIA, Fla.- The Ave Maria University volleyball team found a way to win on Monday night, taking a five-set classic from the Warner University Royals at the Rhodora J. Donahue Academy gymnasium. The Gyrenes rallied for a 29-27, 15-25, 21-25, 25-16, 15-12 victory to advance for the first time ever to the championship game of The Sun Conference Tournament. The victory set a new school record with 15 wins this season, and marks the first female AMU team to play for a conference title since the spring of 2015.

In an epic battle of a match, the first set was perhaps the most epic. Neither team led by more than four points for the entirety of the set, and the lead changed hands numerous times. After trailing 22-21, AMU scored three of the next four points to set up a set point at 24-23. Warner fought off four set points from Ave Maria before finally succumbing to a block from Erica Chenard and Cabriella Bouterse on AMU's fifth attempt.

Any momentum from the 29-27 win in the first set was washed away in the second, as Warner thoroughly dominated the second frame. The Royals jumped out to a 7-2 lead, and never looked back. Warner never trailed in the second set, and led by as many as 12 points. WU hit .333 during the set, and held Ave Maria to a negative attack percentage in a 25-15 victory

Warner continued their quest for a second straight upset in the third set, rallying from a 9-5 AMU lead to go ahead, 10-9. The lead changed six more times during the third set, but a Warner run of 7-2 turned a 19-18 Ave Maria lead into a 25-21 victory for the Royals. The run included two kills from Alexandra Gonzalez and an ace from MacKenzie Ratledge. 

With their season on the line, Ave Maria had an answer in the fourth set. Trailing 10-9, the Gyrenes responded with a 10-4 run to take a 19-14 lead. For good measure, the Gyrenes then ended the set with five unanswered points, which features a kill and three block assists from Madelyn Haut. Ave Maria earned a 25-16 win in the fourth set to force a decisive fifth.

Ave Maria and Warner traded the lead multiple times in the fifth set, leading to a 7-7 tie. The Gyrenes then scored four unanswered points to take the lead for good. Warner twice got within one point, including at 13-12, but a Bouterse kill and an attack error sealed AMU's trip to the conference championship game.

Bouterse led Ave Maria's efforts with 19 kills and three block assists. Haut added 12 kills and eight block assists, one short of her career high. Lily Witkoski, who assumed the setter position in the third set, logged 26 assists, while Victoria Schein led Ave Maria's defensive effort with 21 digs.

The Gyrenes are now one win away from their first conference championship, but will need to topple the undefeated Keiser University Seahawks to do it. Keiser, a 3-0 winner over St. Thomas, will march into the title game with an 18-0 record. The Gyrenes, who hold a 15-3 record, are the only team this season to take the Seahawks to a fifth set. The 2020 Sun Conference championship game is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday night in West Palm Beach.