AVE MARIA, Fla.- The Ave Maria University volleyball cruised to their fourth consecutive win on Saturday afternoon, winning three straight sets over Florida College in the home opener at Donahue Academy. The Gyrenes, who now hold an 8-4 record, won all three sets by scores of 25-14. The win was Ave Maria's fourth straight in the series, a streak dating back to the 2019 season.

The Gyrenes raced out to a 4-0 lead in the first set, and never trailed en route to their first 25-14 win. After Florida College answered with three points of their own, the Gyrenes would score eight of the next nine points, stretching the lead to 12-4, and would never look back. AMU had their best attack percentage of the match in the opening set, posting a .361 mark to just .097 for the visiting Falcons. 

Florida College led early in the second set, scoring the first four points of the frame and building leads of 4-0, 6-3, and 7-4. Trailing 7-4, the Gyrenes then rallied for a 9-1 run, turning the three-point deficit into an eight-point lead. The Ave Maria lead would not shrink below four for the remainder of the set, and a Florida College attack error closed out a 25-14 win for the Gyrenes. 

In the third set, the Gyrenes scored five straight points after a Jenna Wilen kill started the frame for Florida College, and rolled to their third straight 25-14 win. Ave Maria completely shut down the Falcons' attack in the final frame, as Florida College recorded a .000 attack percentage thanks to recording as many errors (seven) as kills. A kill by Zelie Kessler ended the match, providing AMU with their eighth win of 2021.

Ave Maria was dominant at the net during Saturday's victory, recording 48 kills to just 17 for Florida College. The Falcons, who had a hitting percentage below .100 in all three sets, were held a .043 mark, while the Gyrenes had just 16 errors en route to a .327 attack percentage. The Gyrenes were also excellent in the service department, with six aces on the match while surrendering just one to the Falcons.

Abigail Costlow was Ave Maria's attack leader on Saturday, logging eleven kills for the third time in the last four matches while posting a .625 attack percentage. Rita Campos and Madelyn Haut were right behind her with nine kills. Lily Witkoski averaged more then ten assists per set yet again with 34 assists in three sets, while Victoria Schein led the AMU defensive effort with 15 digs.

After 12 matches of non-conference play, the Gyrenes will begin The Sun Conference season on Wednesday night against the Bobcats of St. Thomas University. Ave Maria will take on the Bobcats at the Fernandez Family Center in Miami Gardens at 7 p.m. Wednesday, then will return home for the conference home opener next Saturday against the Warriors of Webber International University.