MIAMI GARDENS, Fla.- The Ave Maria University beach volleyball team put themselves in position to win the first conference title in school history, as the Gyrenes moved to 7-0 in Sun Conference play with wins on Friday over St. Thomas and Florida Memorial. The Gyrenes' dominant victories give Ave Maria a chance to clinch the conference title with a week to play, if AMU can win both of their matches next week against the league's northern pod.

Ave Maria played a pair of matches on Friday, beginning with a neutral site tilt against St. Thomas.The Gyrenes won three matches in straight sets, allowing Ave Maria to claim the overall match with little drama. AMU's top team of Alayna Metherd and Ines Lopes won 21-9, 21-9, while the second flight team of Lily Grasso and Reina Thomas won 21-17, 21-15. AMU's decisive wins were rounded out by Ryan Getz and DeAnna Barrett, who earned a 21-12, 21-7 victory at the fourth flight.

The matches at the third and fifth flights went to a third set, with each team claiming one match. The Gyrene win came from the third flight team of Hannah Jones and Anna Howard, who continued to play well in clutch moments, winning 9-21, 21-12, 15-8. The lone St. Thomas win was provided by Mia Thomas and Mya Thomas, who picked up a 13-21, 23-21, 15-8 win at the fifth flight.

AMU was even more dominant in the nightcap, sweeping the Lions of Florida Memorial University on their home courts. Ave Maria won all ten sets played in the match, and Florida Memorial managed more than 15 points in just three of the sets. 

Jones and Howard earned the most dominant victory of the day, a 21-7, 21-5 victory at the third flight. Grasso and Thomas added a 21-8, 21-17 win over former Gyrene Cabriella Bouterse and Kira Staudenmeir, while Metherd and Lopes added a decisive win of their own, 21-12, 21-11. The bottom two AMU teams - Getz and Barrett at the fourth flight and Abbey Grose and Beatriz Rissi at the fifth, played closer matches, but still emerged with 2-0 wins.

With a current record of 7-0 in league play, Ave Maria currently leads both Webber International and Loyola by one game in the loss column. Thanks to earlier wins over both schools, the Gyrenes would clinch the league's regular season title outright on Friday if the Gyrenes can defeat both Truett McConnell and St. Andrews. Those matches will be hosted by St. Andrews in Laurinburg, North Carolina. A split would give AMU a chance to win the title the following Wednesday against Southeastern.