MIAMI GARDENS, Fla.- The Ave Maria University volleyball team picked up their first win of the 2020 season in emphatic fashion on Saturday afternoon, sweeping the defending Sun Conference tournament champion Florida Memorial Lions on their home floor in Miami Gardens, 25-21, 25-12, 25-18. The win dealt the Lions, who had not dropped a set this season, their first loss of 2020, and snapped a five-game winning streak against conference opponents.
AMU jumped out to a 5-2 lead in the early portion of the game's opening set, but neither the Gyrenes nor the Lions could gain total control. Ave Maria led by as many as four points, but Florida Memorial rallied for five consecutive points to take a 14-13 lead. The match stayed within one or two points until a 5-0 run from the Gyrenes, which was keyed by sophomore Lily Witkoski. Witkoski had two kills and a block assist during the run, which put AMU ahead 22-17. Two late kills from Zelie Kessler ended the opening set, with Ave taking the early edge.
In the second set, the Gyrenes were completely dominant en route to a 25-12 victory. Ave Maria rolled to a 12-4 lead, which included five consecutive points in a run led by two aces and a kill from sophomore captain Katie Grose. The Gyrenes never led by less than six points from that point forward, and scored the final four points of the set to put the exclamation point on the impressive display. AMU logged a game-high .344 hitting percentage in the second set, while FMU was held to a .050 mark.
The third set saw AMU again take an early lead, this time of 7-3. Although the Gyrenes were never able to completely pull away until the final points, AMU kept FMU at bay by never allowing the Lions to put together a major run. With the Lions threatening late, the Gyrenes proceeded to score four of the final five points of the match to clinch the statement-making victory.
Ave Maria was dominant up front in the victory, as the Gyrenes logged 14 blocks as a team and posted a hitting percentage of .327 while holding Florida Memorial to .100. Zelie Kessler led the way with 12 kills, while Madelyn Haut recorded a .667 hitting percentage with 11 kills on 15 swings. Katie Grose ran the offense efficiently with 34 assists. Defensively, Victoria Schein had 14 digs and Alejandra Suarez chipped in with ten, while the blocking effort was led by Haut (seven blocks), Erica Chenard (six) and Grose (five).
After a pair of road matches to start the season, the Gyrenes will play at home twice next week. The home opener comes on Wednesday, when Ave Maria welcomes the Fire of Southeastern University to town. First serve of that match is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.. On Saturday, another stalwart of The Sun Conference comes to Ave Maria in the form of the Mariners of the College of Coastal Georgia. That match is scheduled to begin at 2:00 p.m.
