WINTER HAVEN, Fla.- The Ave Maria University volleyball team came dangerously close to a first round upset Tuesday night, but eventually fell in five sets to the Webber International University Warriors in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Sun Conference Tournament. Ave Maria held a lead in the fifth set, but could not finish off the Warriors to advance to Friday's semifinal against St. Thomas in Miami Gardens.
Tuesday's match started with Webber as the hotter team, as the Warriors claimed a 25-15 win in the opening frame. Webber led from the opening point, opening up a 6-0 lead and leading by as many as nine points. Conversely, the Gyrenes never led in the opening set, giving Webber the early 1-0 lead.
Webber looked to be in control of the second set, but the Gyrenes fought back to even the match at a set a piece. The Warriors jumped out to an early 6-2 lead, but AMU responded with four straight points to even the score at six. The lead was traded several times for the remainder of the set, leading to a tie score of 21-21. From there, AMU claimed four of the final five points, winning the set 25-22 on an Alayna Metherd kill.
In the third set, Webber regained control of the match with a 25-16 victory. The third set followed a similar path to the opening set, with Webber claiming an early lead that would last throughout the set.
AMU wasn't ready for their season to be over, and forced a fifth set with a 25-19 victory in the fourth set. The victory in the fourth set was powered by a late surge, as the Gyrenes outscored Webber 10-4 to close the set. Paeton Hyde provided the winning point for Ave Maria, pounding home a kill to ensure a fifth set would be played.
The fifth set will likely haunt the Gyrenes for a while. Ave Maria held a 10-5 lead in the set, and the Gyrenes were just three points away from moving on when a Kylie Lacy kill gave AMU a 12-10 lead. However, Webber responded with four consecutive points to take a 14-12 lead, then punched their ticket to Miami Gardens on their second attempt at match point, thanks to a Bailey Sikkema kill.
In the final match of the season, Alayna Metherd and Elle Malczewski led AMU's attack with eleven kills a piece, while Beatriz Rissi followed with ten. Ave Maria logged 51 assists over five sets, led by 24 from Caroline Myers and 18 from Reina Thomas. Thomas was also AMU's leader in digs with 14, with Metherd (12) and Hannah Jones (11) both in double figures as well.
Ave Maria finishes the 2023 season with a record of 11-18. The 2023 season for the Gyrenes was marked by the team's youth, as of the ten players to play more than 80 sets for AMU this season, four were true freshmen and another three were in their first season with the Gyrenes.
