LEBANON, Tenn. — The Ave Maria Gyrenes opened their first season under new head coach Teigan McCormick by participating in the 2024 Phoenix Classic. Unfortunately, the Gyrenes started the new year on back-to-back losses to William Carey Cumberlands and the Cumberlands Phoenix.
The first game of the 2024 season was a back and forth tug-o-war between the Gyrenes and the Crusaders. Ave Maria won the first set of the year 25-18. The Gyrenes had multiple three and four-point runs in the opening frame to clinch the set. Ave Maria closed the set out with a three-point run, featuring an attacking error from the Warriors and two kills from sophomores Caroline Myers and Kylie Lacy.
William Carey battled back in the second set and won 25-16, evening the game up at one. Much like Ave Maria in the first set, it was the Crusaders who took advantage of scoring runs to win the set.
Ave Maria and William Carey split the third and fourth sets in the same fashion, with the Gyrenes taking a 2-1 lead and the Crusaders tying it up. The third set started with a 7-0 run from the Gyrenes that was punctuated with a Beatriz Rissi kill. WCU went on a streak of their own to tie the game at 10, but Ave Maria was able to pull away after that. The Gyrenes never trailed after the tie, and won the set off a Ryan Getz kill.
The fourth set was the closest of the game up to that point, but the Gyrenes could not overtake the Crusaders to clinch the game.
Instead, the game went to a winner-take-all fifth set. Ave Maria played eight fifth sets last season and won five of them.
The Gyrenes fell down early in the set, but got back within one point after a WCU service error made it 9-8. The Gyrenes seemed to have run out of steam though as William Carey went on a 6-2 run to win the fifth set and the match 3-2.
Elle Malcsewski was the only Gyrene with double-digit kills with 12. Myers led the team in multiple categories with the best hitting percentage (.429) and most assists (29). Ines Lopes led the team defensively with 21 digs.
Ave Maria did not have much time to lick their wounds after their distance match with Crusaders. Immediately after their first match of the season, they returned to the court to play the host Cumberland Phoenix.
This match was not the bounce back the Gyrenes needed as they got swept 3-0.
In the opening set, Ave Maria got five service aces but it wasn't enough as they fell 25-23. The Cumberlands doubled up Ave Maria in kills in the first set 16-8, which put the Phoenix on top late in the frame.
The second set was even closer, needing extra points to determine the winner. Getz spiked a ball from Emily Child to tie the game at 25 and send it to extras. During free volleyball, the Gyrenes got one point away from winning it once, but the Phoenix tied it again and eventually won 30-28.
The third set was the most uneven of the three. Ave Maria had a 12-11 lead at one point in the match trying to force a fourth set, but the Cumberlands went on a 14-6 run to win the set and the match.
Freshman Greta Heiney led the team in kills against the Cumberlands with eight. Getz led the team in assists with 15. Defensively, Lopes and Abbey Grose led the team with 10 digs.
With the two losses, Ave Maria starts the season 0-2. The Gyrenes return to the court Saturday, August 17, for two more games in the 2024 Phoenix Classic. They will first play the Fisk Bulldogs then close out the roadtrip with against the Blue Mountain Toppers.
