AVE MARIA, Fla. — The Ave Maria Volleyball team put up their best effort Tuesday night against Florida College but just could not find a set against the Falcons. The Gyrenes were swept 3-0 in the match and the 3-0 on the season against Florida College.
The sets got closer as the match went on but the Gyrenes started out cold in the opening frame. The Falcons doubled up the Gyrenes in kills with 16 to Ave Maria's eight. Florida College led for the entire set, with the Gyrenes forcing just one tie early in the frame. FC took the first set 25-15.
The second set was a little closer, with Ave Maria scoring 20 to Florida College's 25. The Gyrenes were hanging around early in the frame, but a 7-1 run from the Falcons put the set out of reach. Ave Maria got back within three times, but that was as close as the Gyrenes would get.
The third and final set was by far the closest of the match and the closest of the season between the Gyrenes and Falcons, with Florida College taking it 27-25. The set started just as the previous two had, with the Falcons taking an early lead. Florida College led by as much as six two separate times in the set. However, the Gyrenes did not throw in the towel.
Powered by a boisterous crowd at the Tom Golisano Field House, the Gyrenes rattled off a 9-0 run, forcing Florida College to spend both of their timeouts and taking a 20-17 lead. The run started with an attack error from the Falcons. Maylis DeTar then served the next nine points, recording one ace. Five of the nine points were off attack errors from Florida College, but the Gyrenes did get kills from Beatriz Rissi, Ava Winkler and Ryan Getz.
Out of the Falcons' second timeout, FC put a stop to the bleeding with a service error. The two teams battled back and forth, and Florida College retook the lead. The Falcons were the first to reach set point, but a kill from Emily Child kept the Gyrenes in the game. Florida College reached match point again and thought the had the kill, but a great diving dig from Getz led to a Mara Delyon kill to extend the match by at least two more points.
Unfortunately, the magic ran out as the Florida College won the next two points to win the match.
Child led the team with 13 kills and was the only one with double digits. Maria Teixeira was the leading setter with 17 assists. Behind the line, the Gyrenes had two aces, one from DeTar and the other from Winkler. Defensively, Getz led the team with 11 digs. DeTar also hit double digits with 10. At the net, Rissi led the team with four total blocks, all assisted.
With the loss, Ave Maria falls to 5-10 and 0-3 on the year against Florida College. It is the second time in the series history that these two teams have played each other three times in a single season.
Ave Maria stays home for their next match as the resume league play by hosting the New College of Florida Mighty Banyans on Saturday, October 11. The Gyrenes have played all of their conference opponents once already and will begin their second trip around the Sun. The Gyrenes beat the Mighty Banyans in five sets to open conference play on September 5. Saturday's match is part of a quadruple header on the campus of Ave Maria, with the annual Ave Maria Cross Country Invitational that morning, Women's Soccer hosting Warner, and Football hosting Webber. Opening serve is slated for 2 p.m. and the match will be streamed live on the Urban Edge Network.
