AVE MARIA, Fla.- The Ave Maria University volleyball got back in the Sun Conference win column on Saturday, and did so in dominant fashion in a sweep of the Webber International University Warriors. After losing the first 21 meetings between the Warriors and the Gyrenes, Ave Maria has now swept the season series in four consecutive years, winning eight straight sets and dropping only two sets in the process.

In the three sets played on Saturday, the Gyrenes never trailed, scoring the first point in each frame and never allowing Webber to take the lead. Ave Maria used an early run to take control of the first set, going on a 6-1 run to turn a 3-3 tie into a 9-4 lead. The Warriors would not get closer than three points for the remainder of the set, and the Gyrenes continued to build their lead before a Lily Witkoski kill concluded matters in the opening frame with a 25-16 AMU win. 

Ave Maria kept the momentum going into the second set, jumping out to a 4-0 lead. After Webber got back into the set and evened the score at five, the Gyrenes put together another big surge, this one to the tune of 16-4. AMU scored four or more consecutive points on four different occasions during the set, and a block from Abigail Costlow and Zelie Kessler sealed Ave Maria's most decisive victory of the day at 25-11.

The Gyrenes again took control early on in the third set, but had to hold off the charging Warriors down the stretch. Ave Maria's third set run came after back-to-back Webber points had cut the AMU lead to 9-8, and saw the Gyrenes score eight of the next nine points to extend the lead to 17-9. Webber would get the AMU lead down to three points at 19-16, but the hosts never let the Warriors get any closer, scoring six of the final eight points of the match to finish off a sweep. 

Abigail Costlow and Cabriella Bouterse were both nearly unstoppable in the win, recording eleven kills each with attack percentages of .400 or higher. Lily Witkoski came dangerously close to a triple-double with 22 assists, nine kills, and eight digs, while Katie Grose added 17 assists and seven digs. Victoria Schein had a team-high 14 digs, Hannah Jones added ten, and Costlow was the team's defensive leader at the net with five total blocks.

AMU's win increased the program's winning streak at Donahue Gym to 18 straight matches, a streak that has now lasted more than two calendar years. The Gyrenes will need to continue that streak and win three matches on the road to put themselves in position for a conference title. The first of those road games comes Wednesday night, when the Gyrenes head to Lakeland for a meeting with the Fire of Southeastern University. Opening serve from The Furnace is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.