CLEVELAND, Ga.- The Ave Maria University beach volleyball team wrapped up a bye in The Sun Conference Tournament on Friday afternoon, sweeping their first two matches of the weekend on the campus of Truett McConnell University. The Gyrenes took 5-0 decisions from the host Bears of Truett McConnell, as well as the Knights from St. Andrews University, running their winning streak to eight matches and ensuring the second seed in next weekend's championships.

The match with Truett McConnell, a non-conference battle that led off the day's action, was the more competitive of the two, with two matches going to a third set. At the number three spot, Katie Grose and Zelie Kessler took the opening set 21-14, but TMU's Taylor Roland and Deomi Valmus evened the match with a 21-18 win in the second. It came down to the wire in the third, but Grose and Kessler were able to escape with a 16-14 win.

In the other three-set match, AMU's Reina Thomas and Grace Carson traded 21-12 sets with Truett McConnell's Kaleigh McFarland and Alana Davis, sending their match at the number five position to the third set. Carson and Thomas controlled that third set to the tune of a 15-11 win.

Ave Maria controlled the other three matches against the host Bears, all 2-0 sweeps. Lily Witkoski and Alejandra Suarez continued their winning ways with a 21-11, 21-12 win at the top spot, while Cabriella Bouterse and Miah Pena withstood a challenge in the second set to win 21-17, 24-22 at the number two position. The last of AMU's sweeps came from Victoria Schein and Lily Grasso, who were 21-16, 21-10 winners at the number four position.

Against St. Andrews, the Gyrenes were totally dominant, never allowing any Knights pair to score more than 17 points in a set. Suarez and Witkoski moved to 10-0 on the season with a 21-16, 21-15 win at the number one spot, and Pena and Bouterse continued the winning with a 21-16, 21-10 win at the second spot. The closest match came at the third position, a 21-17, 21-15 win by Grose and Kessler.

AMU's fourth and fifth teams provided the most lopsided victories in the nightcap. At the fourth spot, Grasso and Schein dominated their way to a 21-9, 21-13. The best performance in the second match came from Carson and Hannah Jones, who surrendered just 19 points total in a 21-9, 21-10 thrashing of St. Andrews' team at the number five spot. 

The Gyrenes complete the regular season with two more matches on the Truett McConnell campus. Ave Maria meets St. Thomas University in non-conference action to open the morning, then battles the hosts for a second time, this time in a Sun Conference match, to concludes the regular season.