LAKELAND, Fla.- The Ave Maria University volleyball team could not keep up with the Southeastern University Fire on Wednesday evening, falling in four sets in Lakeland. The Fire and Gyrenes split the first two sets, but Southeastern rolled in the third and fourth to take the Sun Conference contest. Ave Maria fell to 1-2 in conference play, while the Fire moved to 2-1.
Southeastern jumped out to an 11-6 lead in the opening set of the match, powered by five consecutive points after the score had evened at six. SEU led for the remainder of the set, but Ave Maria was able to get as close as one, 22-21, following a kill from freshman Rita Campos. The Fire would put away the set by scoring the final three points of the frame on a kill from Sandy Cao and a pair of AMU attack errors.
In the second set, the lead changed hands numerous times, and the frame would come down to the wire. Ave Maria had four attempts at set points, three of which were set up by kills from Campos. Each of the first four were turned away by the Fire, who also had their own attempt at set point at 28-27. From there, AMU won three straight points, finishing the second set on a block from Abigail Costlow and Cabriella Bouterse, followed by a kill from Bouterse.
The Fire took control of the match in the final two sets, earning victories of 25-15 and 25-11. Southeastern had an attack percentage better than .300 in both of the final two sets, while Ave Maria's was under .100, including a .000 attack percentage in the fourth. SEU's service proved to be key in the match, as the Fire logged eight aces while the Gyrenes did not have any.
Campos was Ave Maria's leading attacker in the losing effort, logging 15 kills over the match's four sets. Madelyn Haut followed with 14 kills, and was also tied for the team lead with four blocks, while Costlow added eleven kills and four blocks of her own. Lily Witkoski posted a double-double for the Gyrenes, posting 33 assists and eleven digs. Three other Gyrenes had at least ten digs, led by 27 from Victoria Schein. Hannah Jones (14) and Miah Pena (10) were also in double figures.
Ave Maria will play their next match on Wednesday, September 22, which will see the Gyrenes go back on the road. AMU will take on the Royals of Warner University in Lake Wales, with opening serve scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Following the matchup with the Royals, three of the Gyrenes' next four matches will be at home, beginning next Saturday against the College of Coastal Georgia.
