AVE MARIA, Fla.- The Ave Maria University volleyball team won their third consecutive conference match on Saturday afternoon, rallying from an early deficit to claim a 16-25, 25-22, 25-22, 25-20 over the College of Coastal Georgia at the Donahue Academy gymnasium. With a 3-1 record in Sun Conference play, the Gyrenes are currently second in the league behind unbeaten Keiser.
Coastal Georgia was dominant in the opening set, as the Mariners never trailed and led from the ninth point of the set until the end. The Mariners rode a standout performance from Giovana Larregui in the first frame, as the Ocala native logged seven kills. Coastal Georgia went on three seperate runs of four of more points in a row, including five in a row that opened up a 4-4 match into a 9-4 lead for the Mariners. A kill by Hannah Williams capped off a 5-1 run to close the set, giving Coastal the early edge.
Ave Maria responded well to their first dropped set in over a week, rallying to even the match in the second set. The serve of Katie Grose opened up the Gyrene lead, as AMU scored five consecutive points to take a 9-5 lead. Ave Maria led by as many as seven in the set, but Coastal Georgia rallied to cut the AMU lead to 23-22 in the closing moments. With the match possibly on the line, a kill by Madelyn Haut and a subsequent attack error from the Mariners allowed AMU to close it out.
The Gyrenes came out strong in the third set, scoring the first four points on two kills from Haut, one from Grose, and one service error from Coastal. The lead would not last, as the Mariners took the lead in the middle portion of the set, and held a 20-16 edge. The Gyrenes scored four straight points to even the score at 20, then found themselves tied at 22 with a 2-1 lead on the line. The next three points would all go to AMU, as the Gyrenes used two errors from CCGA and a kill from Cabriella Bouterse to take control of the match.
Once again, Ave Maria was able to rally from a Coastal Georgia lead in the middle parts of a set to close out the match. Ave trailed the Mariners 15-14, but took the lead for good on a Grose ace, a Lily Witkoski kill, and two errors. The Mariners would get as close as 20-19, but Ave Maria scored five of the final six points to snap a four-match losing streak to Coastal Georgia.
Balance was key for the Gyrenes in the win, as five AMU players had between seven and eleven kills. Lily Witkoski led the way with eleven, while Madelyn Haut followed with ten. Katie Grose narrowly missed out on a triple-double with eight kills, ten digs, and 31 assists, while Victoria Schein led all players with 17 digs.
Both of Ave Maria's matches next week will be on the road, starting on Wednesday. The Gyrenes will travel to Miami Gardens for a meeting with the St. Thomas University Bobcats. Opening serve in Dade County is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
