AVE MARIA, Fla.- The Ave Maria University volleyball team rolled past Florida National University on Tuesday night, taking three straight sets from the Conquistadors at the Rhodora J. Donahue Academy gymnasium. It was a historic night for the volleyball program, as Madelyn Haut became AMU's all-time leader in total blocks, while Victoria Schein became just the second player in school history to log 1000 digs.

AMU was completely dominant in the opening set, blasting past FNU by a 25-9 margin. Ave Maria surrendered just three kills to the Conquistadors while racking up 13 of their own. The Gyrenes' biggest run of the opening set when leading 4-2, after which Ave Maria won eight of the nine points to push the lead out to 12-3. The lead would not creep below eight points, and an FNU attack error concluded matters in the first. 

The Gyrenes again controlled the second set, jumping out to a 7-2 lead and never looking back in a 25-15 win. Ave Maria's attack was on display in the second, with 17 of the team's 25 points coming on kills, good for a .324 attack percentage. A kill by Millie Stockard was the final blow in the second, giving the Gyrenes a chance at the sweep. 

In the third set, Ave Maria had to hold off a charge from the Conquistadors to seal the sweep. Florida National got as close as one point repeatedly in the closing moments of the final set, but could never entirely close the gap on AMU before an Abigail Costlow kill on Ave Maria's second match point gave the Gyrenes their fourth consecutive victory. 

Madelyn Haut was effective for the Gyrenes in the non-conference win, logging nine kills with a .615 attack percentage, while also posting seven total blocks. Lily Witkoski had 26 assists, mostly in the first two sets, while Victoria Schein led the defense with 13 digs. The totals for Schein and Haut were enough for some AMU history.

Schein eclipsed the 1000 dig mark in the victory, becoming just the second player in school history to do so. The first, Hayley Wonka, had 1009 digs from 2010-2013. With two digs on Wednesday night, Schein would become the school's all-time leader in digs in just under three seasons as Ave Maria's libero. 

Haut's final block on Tuesday night was her 224th in an Ave Maria, breaking the record set by three-time All-Conference selection Lexy Smith, who was AMU's middle blocker from 2014-2016. The 2020-21 Honorable Mention All-American had a solo block and six assists to topple Smith's record on Tuesday. 

Ave Maria returns to Sun Conference play on Wednesday night with a crucial contest against the Fire of Southeastern University. The Gyrenes are currently one game behind St. Thomas and Florida Memorial in the conference standings with five matches to go. A win over the Fire would be crucial, avening a four-set loss to the Fire back on September 22. Opening serve between the Gyrenes and the Fire is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. in Ave Maria.