BRUNSWICK, Ga.- The Ave Maria University volleyball moved another step closer to a bye in The Sun Conference Tournament on Saturday, defeating the Mariners of the College of Coastal Georgia in four sets in Brunswick. The Gyrenes' magic number to advance straight to the conference final four is now two, and could be set in stone as early as Wednesday. The Gyrenes have now won seven straight against the Mariners, a streak that includes last season's Sun Conference Tournament championship.
This season's Gyrenes have had to rally at least once in every match of the season, and Saturday was no different. AMU trailed 21-20 late in the opening set, thanks to a 4-0 run from the Mariners. The Gyrenes responded with five of the last seven points to claim a 25-23 win. The rally was led by two Zelie Kessler kills, as well as aces from Miah Pena and Abigail Costlow, who also had the kill that tied the set at 21.
That momentum for the Gyrenes carried into the second set, a 25-16 win for AMU. The key run came in the middle of the set, which saw Ave Maria go on a 10-2 run that turned a 12-10 lead into a 22-12 edge. Coastal Georgia would not get closer than seven points for the remainder of the set, and a Coastal Georgia attack error finished off AMU's second set win of the afternoon.
Coastal Georgia would not let the Gyrenes roll to a sweep, and controlled much of the third set. The Mariners went on a 14-4 run, and seemed to be on cruise control to a set win with a 22-11 lead. However, the Gyrenes roared back with a 12-2 run, cutting the CCGA lead all the way down to 24-23. On their last chance at set point, Coastal's Chantiya Johnson put down a kill to ensure a 25-23 win for the hosts.
The near-comeback in the third set clearly sparked something in the Gyrenes, who obliterated the Mariners in the fourth set. Ave Maria put together their most dominant set of the season, winning 25-6 and logging 14 kills without an error on just 24 swings. The blowout set included two seperate 9-0 runs, and was finished off by kills from Madelyn Haut and Cabriella Bouterse.
Four Gyrenes had at least eleven kills on Saturday, led by an 18-kill effort from Zelie Kessler. The Gyrene attack, which racked up a .343 attack percentage on the day, was run expertly by Lily Witkoski, who dished out 50 assists, the third 50-assist performance in a four set match in her career. Witkoski was also Ave Maria's leader at the net with five total blocks. Defensively, Victoria Schein stopped Coastal Georgia's attacking efforts with 17 digs, marking her fifth straight double digit performance.
Ave Maria enters the final week of the regular season needing three wins and a St. Thomas loss to win the regular season Sun Conference title. The Gyrenes can clinch a top-two finish in the league for the third year in a row on Wednesday, when the Keiser University Seahawks come to Donahue Gym. The Gyrenes rallied for a win in a five-set thriller in West Palm Beach earlier this season. Opening serve between the Gyrenes and the Seahawks is slated for 7:00 p.m.
