TAVARES, Fla.- The Ave Maria University beach volleyball team split their first two matches at the AVCA Small College Beach Championships, held at the Hickory Point Beach Complex in Tavares. The Gyrenes swept Sun Conference foe St. Andrews University for the second time this season, but dropped a 3-2 decision to the Braves of Ottawa University from Kansas in their final game of the day.
Ave Maria's day started with the team's second sweep of the Knights of St. Andrews University. The Gyrenes clinched the match with ease, winning three of the five contests in straight sets. The most dominant pair was Katie Grose and Zelie Kessler, who surrendered just 18 total points in a 21-8, 21-10 win. The number five pair of Abigail Costlow and Reina Thomas won 21-8, 21-16, while Miah Pena and Cabriella Bouterse clinched the win with a 21-12, 22-20 win at the number two spot.
The Gyrenes won the other two matches in a third set, coming from behind in one and holding off the Knights in the other. Lily Witkoski and Alejandra Suarez moved to 13-1 on the season, bouncing back from a 21-19 defeat in the first set to take the last two, 21-10 and 15-12. At the number four spot, Lily Grasso and Victoria Schein took the first set, 21-8, but dropped a nailbiter in the second, 28-26, before rallying for a 15-11 win in the third.
In the nightcap against Ottawa, four of the five matches were decided in straight sets, with the fifth position going to a third set to decide the match. Two Ave Maria pairs went to 2-0 on the day, as Witkoski and Suarez earned a 21-18, 21-14 win at the top spot, and Grose and Kessler were again AMU's most dominant duo with a 21-14, 21-12 victory. Ottawa wins at the second and fourth positions set up the decisive contest.
At the number five spot, Ottawa's duo took the first set, 21-16, but Thomas and Costlow came from behind to force a third set with a 21-19 triumph. The third set went back and forth, including a late lead for the Gyrenes, but the Braves eventually emerged with a 15-13 win, giving the match to Ottawa.
The day's action also included a Pairs Challenge, where duos not in their team's main lineup could compete. Ave Maria was represented in this competition by Hannah Jones and Grace Carson. The duo earned a victory over Corban University's Andrea Roth and Jolie Keanini in the opening match of the day, 21-17, 21-19, before falling to a duo from Webber, 21-11, 21-18 to finish 1-1 on the day.
With a 1-1 record on the first day, the Gyrenes advanced to the championship bracket, and will enter the final day of play as the No. 5 seed. The quarterfinal round will feature another Sun Conference rematch, as Ave Maria takes on William Carey University at 9:00 a.m. at Hickory Point. The winner of that match will face top-seeded Sun Conference champion Webber International, with Southeastern, Ottawa, and Mobile on the other side of the bracket.
