LAKE WALES, Fla.- The Ave Maria University volleyball team continued their recent dominance of Warner University on Wednesday, rolling past the Royals in three sets in Lake Wales. The Gyrenes had little trouble with the hosts, emerging with a 25-11, The win was Ave Maria's ninth straight against the Royals, with eight of the nine matches ending in three or four sets.
Ave Maria was nearly unstoppable at the net in the first set, racking up a .455 attack percentage en route to a 25-11 set victory. AMU raced out to a 5-1 lead early on in the set, then completely put away the Royals with a 13-3 run that pushed an 8-5 lead to 21-8. Zelie Kessler closed out the set with her first kill of the night, giving the Gyrenes the early advantage.
In the second set, Ave Maria allowed Warner to bury themselves, with the Royals committing 15 attack errors, including eleven of the unforced variety. There was never any doubt in set number two, with the Gyrenes scoring the first seven points, then scored eight more points in a row to push their lead to 15-2. Kessler and Ryan Getz finished off the second set with kills, ending the action in a 25-9 AMU win.
Wednesday's third set was the day's only competitive set, with Warner jumping out to leads of 10-6 and 12-8. The Gyrenes battled back, and the teams traded the lead several times down the stretch. With the score tied at 23, Beatriz Rissi set Ave Maria up with match point with a kill, and the Gyrenes finished off the Royals thanks to an attack error.
The Gyrenes had 30 kills as a team on Wednesday, and only committed six errors. Ave Maria's dominance at the net extended to the defense, as the Gyrenes forced 32 attack errors from the Royals, who ended the match with a -.102 attack percentage. AMU added six blocks on the defensive end, and put down six aces to just one for the Royals.
With all the Warner errors, no Gyrene posted gargantuan attack numbers. The quartet of Getz, Kessler, Rissi, and Alayna Metherd all had five kills. Caroline Myers and Getz combined for 25 assists, led by 14 from Myers, while Getz narrowly missed out on a double-double with a team-high eight digs.
After winning back-to-back matches for the first time this season, the Gyrenes will come home for the first time in 2023. The Gyrenes will host the Mariners of the College of Coastal Georgia, who lost their SUN opener in four sets to Southeastern Wednesday night. Opening serve from Donahue Gym is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.
