SEWARD, Neb.- The most accomplished season in Ave Maria University volleyball history came to an end on Saturday afternoon, as the Gyrenes could not get past the Bulldogs of Concordia University in the 2021 NAIA Women's Volleyball National Championship Opening Round, presented by Select Sport America. Ave Maria fell in three sets to the No. 19 team in the nation, 25-12, 25-23, 25-19.
Concordia looked like one of the top 20 teams in the nation in the first set, storming past the Gyrenes, 25-12. The Bulldogs never trailed in the opening frame, scoring the first four points of the set and building the lead from there. Concordia logged 17 kills in the first set, posting a .433 attack percentage. Conversely, the Gyrenes were held to eight kills with seven errors, recording a .031 attack percentage.
Ave Maria started to find their footing in the second set, and the Gyrenes led for the majority of the frame. Concordia held an early 6-3 lead, but Ave Maria followed with a 6-1 run to take a 9-7 advantage. The margin would remain within three points for the remainder of the set, with Ave Maria holding a late lead of 22-20. Concordia took the second set by earning five of the final six points, clinching the set on an AMU attack error.
In the third set, the score stayed tight between the Bulldogs and the Gyrenes, but Concordia was able to secure their spot in Sioux City with a 25-19 win. Neither team led by more than three points until the closing moments of the match. Ave Maria was within two, 17-15, down the stretch, following a kill from Abigail Costlow. The Bulldogs finished off the match with eight of the final 12 points, including a kill from Arleigh Costello that sealed the deal.
The Bulldogs' attack proved to be too much for the Gyrenes, as Concordia posted a .308 attack percentage as a team. 48 of Concordia' 75 points came directly from kills, while Ave Maria managed just 33 kills with 21 attack errors, recording a .111 attack percentage on the match. The Gyrenes did manage nine blocks, doing as much as they could to contain a dangerous Bulldog front line.
Cabriella Bouterse was the leading attacker in the Opening Round for Ave Maria, recording 12 kills. Lily Witkoski was once again over ten assists per set, concluding a stellar junior season with 31 more assists. A pair of Gyrenes had ten or more digs in the losing effort, led by 12 from Miah Pena with Victoria Schein adding eleven.
Saturday's game with Concordia marked Ave Maria's first appearance at the national championship level, capping a historic season that saw the Gyrenes win a school record 22 games. The last of those 22 wins secured AMU their first conference championship in program history. With a 37-12 record over the past two seasons, including a 25-7 record against conference foes, Ave Maria will head into the 2022 season as one of the teams to beat in The Sun Conference, especially considering that nearly all of the Gyrenes that played on Saturday are slated to return.
