AVE MARIA, Fla. — The Ave Maria Volleyball team got their first win of the season Wednesday night, sweeping the Florida Memorial Lions in three straight sets. The Gyrenes never trailed in the first two sets of the match and pulled away in the third to clinch the game.
The opening frame of the match could not have gone any better for the Gyrenes. Ave Maria won 15 of the first 20 points to jump up on the Lions 15-5.
Florida Memorial came back and even got within four points of the Gyrenes multiple times, but Ave Maria never faltered. The Gyrenes kept steady pressure on FMU and won the opening set 25-19 off a kill from Lilian Dauses.
Ave Maria got 10 kills in the first set but were also the beneficiaries of nine Florida Memorial errors.
The second set started off tighter than the first, but Ave Maria ran away with it at the end. Tied at 18, Florida Memorial turned the ball over on a service error putting the Gyrenes up by one. That was the last time Florida Memorial would serve the ball in the second set frame, as the Gyrenes rattled off six points with Abbey Grose serving.
Again, the Gyrenes were the beneficiaries of Florida Memorial errors, gaining nine points off kills and eight points off FMU errors. In comparison, the Lions recorded nine kills as well, but only received four errors from the Gyrenes.
The third set saw Florida Memorial lead for the first time in the match, leading by three points multiple times. Ave Maria surged to take a 12-10 lead and never looked back from there.
To close out the match, the Gyrenes went on 10-2 run to win the final set 25-17. The final blow of the match was dealt by Dauses again, who finished the day with eight kills.
As a team, the Gyrenes recorded 33 kills and eight aces. That is the most aces since the first day of the season back on August 16. Ave Maria was also given 22 total points off Florida Memorial errors. At 7.33 errors per set, that is the most the Gyrenes have seen from an opponent this year.
Individually, Beatriz Rissi led the team in kills for the fourth match in a row and fifth match overall at nine. Caroline Myers was the leading setter with 16 assists. At the net, Dauses led the team with five blocks, which is a season high for the Gyrenes this year. Behind the line, Greta Heiney and Abbey Grose each had two aces. Defensively, Ines Lopes led the team with 10 digs.
With the victory, Ave Maria gets their first win of the season and evens their conference record to 1-1.
The Gyrenes stay home for their next match, returning to Tom Golisano Field House Saturday, September 14, against the Southeastern Fire. The opening serve is set for 2 p.m. and is part of a triple header of home events at Ave Maria, along with Women's Soccer and Football both opening their home schedules that day. The match can be streamed live on the Sun Digital Network.
