AVE MARIA, Fla.- The Ave Maria University beach volleyball team made a major statement on Saturday, twice defeating the No. 6 Southeastern University Fire at the Suppa-Malec Beach Volleyball Complex in Ave Maria. The Gyrenes dominated the day, winning nine of the ten matches played to claim a 5-0 victory in the opener, which counted towards The Sun Conference standings, and a 4-1 win in the nightcap, a non-conference affair. 

In both matches, the fourth and fifth positions played first, with the top three spots following in a second round. Ave Maria jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the conference match with two early victories from the fourth and fifth pairs. Victoria Schein and Lily Grasso earned a 21-19, 21-11 at the number four spot, and Abigail Costlow and Reina Thomas rolled to a 21-10, 21-15 win at the fifth position. 

Ave Maria's top pair of Lily Witkoski and Alejandra Suarez clinched the conference match, winning 21-17, 21-10 over Southeastern's number one pair. The final two matches went to a third set, but the Gyrenes won both to finish off a sweep of the number six team in the nation. Cabriella Bouterse and Miah Pena rallied from a loss in the first set for a 16-21, 22-20, 15-9 win, while reigning Sun Conference Pair of the Week Zelie Kessler and Katie Grose picked up a 21-19, 16-21, 15-12 win.

Both teams switched up their lineups in the second match, but Ave Maria got off to another 2-0 start. Costlow and Thomas moved up to the number four spot, and picked up their seventh consecutive win with a 21-13, 21-23, 15-12 win. At the number five spot, Hannah Jones and Lily Grasso dropped the first set by a 21-13 score, but came back to control the final two sets, earning wins of 21-8 and 15-9.

Needing just one win in the final round to seal the sweep of the day, the Gyrenes got two of the three. Witkoski and Suarez remained undefeated on the season with a 23-21, 21-13 win, moving the pair to 8-0. Ave Maria's final win was provided by Bouterse and Pena, who were 11-21, 21-19, 15-8 winners at the number two spot. Southeastern's lone win of the day came at the number three spot, a 16-21, 21-13, 15-13 win from Grace Petty and Brooke Henry. 

The conference win officially clinched Ave Maria's spot in The Sun Conference Tournament next month. With wins in the final two conference matches, the Gyrenes will finish no worse than second, which would earn Ave Maria a first round bye. Those two conference matches come April 1 and April 2, when the Gyrenes head to Cleveland, Georgia for matches against St. Andrew's University and Truett McConnell University.