HIALEAH, Fla. — The Ave Maria Volleyball traveled East to Hialeah for a midweek game against the Florida National Conquistadors and got a nice 3-0 win. Not only did the Gyrenes sweep the match by winning the first three sets, but Ave Maria also swept Florida National in the season series, winning both matches between the two programs.
The Gyrenes controlled the entire first frame, only trailing in the set for one point. Ave Maria recorded 15 kills in the set with Greta Heiney leading the way with four. Beatriz Rissi recorded the set-winning kill, spiking the ball home with an assist from Maria Teixeira to give the Gyrenes a 25-20 win in the opening frame.
The second set was by far the most dominant of the match for the Gyrenes, winning 25-15. AMU tallied 18 kills and again saw Heiney lead the way with six. The two teams were even in the beginning points of the set, but then the Gyrenes broke off on an 11-2 run to take a 16-8 lead. From there, Ave Maria cruised to their second point in the match, getting the winning point off an attack error from Florida National.
The Conquistadors fought back in the third set and looked like they were going to extend the night by at least one more frame. FNU took a 22-15 lead after back-to-back errors from AMU. They were three points away from winning their first set against Ave Maria this season, but the Gyrenes did not go quietly into the night. Down seven, Ave Maria won the next eight points in a row to take a 23-22 lead. Three of the eight points were kills from Rissi, Mara Delyon and Emily Child; and two were off service aces from Caroline Myers. The two teams exchanged points back-and-forth, for a bit and forced the frame to extras. Heiney recorded her 11
th kill of the match to give AMU a 26-25 lead and an attack error from the Conquistadors ended the match.
Heiney led the team with 11 kills and was the only one to hit double figures. Myers was the leading setter for the Gyrenes with 24 assists. She also recorded two of the three aces for the Gyrenes in the match.
Defensively, Ryan Getz led the team with 17 digs. At the net, Lucy Hudson and Rissi led the team with two total blocks. Hudson recorded a solo block along with Elle Malczewski.
With the win, Ave Maria improves to 7-12 overall.
The match was also the final non-conference game of the season for the Gyrenes who turn the attention back to the Sun Conference. Ave Maria is in firm control of fourth place in the standings with a 5-5 record with four more games left on the schedule.
The Gyrenes can clinch their spot in the tournament on Saturday as they take on seventh place Warner. On the outside looking in, the Royals are currently 2-8 in league play. A win over them on Saturday would put the Gyrenes out of reach from Warner. Opening serve in Lake Wales is set for 2 p.m. and the match will be streamed live on the Urban Edge Network.
