AVE MARIA, Fla.- The Ave Maria University beach volleyball team hosted the Sun Conference Beach Volleyball Championships this weekend, played Friday and Saturday at the Suppa Malec Beach Volleyball Complex on the AMU campus. The Gyrenes, who were the second seed in the tournament, fell 3-1 in the semifinals to the Fire of Southeastern University. Southeastern would eventually fall 3-1 in the championship round to the Webber International Warriors.

Ave Maria's point came at the third position, as Katie Grose and Zelie Kessler earned a three-set victory. Grose and Kessler stretched their winning streak to five matches with a 21-14, 16-21, 15-11 win over Southeastern's Grace Petty and Brooke Henry. The win moved the pair to 11-2 on the season, accounting for the second-highest win total on the roster. 

Southeastern claimed victories at the first and fourth spots, and held a 2-1 lead with two matches to play. SEU's Sylvia Liszewski and Sandy Cao defeated Alejandra Suarez and Lily Witkoski in straight sets, 21-15, 21-14. Hannah Kaszubowski and Emilia Harding added a victory at the number four position, rallying to win in three sets over Victoria Schein and Lily Grasso, 12-21, 21-13, 15-10.

The final two matches on the sand decided the match, with Southeastern needing just one win and Ave Maria needing to win both. The first match to finish came at the number five spot, as Kennedy Jones and Emily Eurice earned a 21-19, 19-21, 17-15 win over Reina Thomas and Hannah Jones. The final match between Miah Pena and Cabriella Bouterse and Baylee Warneke and Aly Postlethwaite went unfinished, with the third set tied at 14.

AMU will have one more chance to play for a championship next weekend, when the Gyrenes play at the AVCA Small College Beach Championships in Tavares at the Hickory Point Beach Complex. Ave Maria was placed in Pool B with Ottawa (Kansas) and St. Andrews. Action at Hickory Point will begin at 10 am Thursday, when the Gyrenes face St. Andrews for the second time this season. A match with Ottawa is scheduled for 3:00 pm.