BOURBONNAIS, Ill. — The 2025 season is officially underway for the Ave Maria University Volleyball team as the Gyrenes traveled up to Illinois to compete in the Olivet Nazarene Tigers Kickoff Invite. The Gyrenes dropped their first two matches of the year but played seven close sets against two good programs.
Ave Maria fell 3-0 in the first match to the Grace Lancers, who received votes in the NAIA preseason poll. All three sets were tightly contested, with Grace winning the first two by a combined four points. After dropping the first frame, the Gyrenes reached set point twice in the second set, but could not put the Lancers away, losing 27-25. Grace took the third set 25-17 to complete the sweep.
Greta Heiney led the team offensively in the first match of the season. The sophomore recorded a career-high 12 kills on 26 total attempts. Caroline Myers led the team in assists with 11. Defensively, Kate Lyons led the team with six digs. Behind the line, Beatriz Rissi recorded the only two aces of the game for the Gyrenes.
After a short break, AMU was back on the court to take on the Cumberland Phoenix in a rematch from last year's season opening invite. The Phoenix took an early lead with a quick win in the first set, but the Gyrenes fought back in the second frame, winning their first set of the day. AMU was down two points multiple times in the set but came back to tie the match at one.
Cumberland took the third frame by 10 points to retake the lead in the match. The fourth frame was another tight set with the Gyrenes hanging within a few points of the Phoenix. Ave Maria fought off one match point from Cumberland to make it 24-22 but fell in the next point to end the match.
As a team, Ave Maria registered 11 service aces against the Phoenix. It is the first time since September 20, 2023, that the Gyrenes recorded 10 or more. Megan Klockner led the team with four, while Rissi had three, Myers had two and Abbey Grose and Mara Delyon each had one.
Rissi, Heiney and Ryan Getz tied for the team lead in kills, each with six. Myers led the team in assists again with 17. Defensively, Grose led the team in digs with 16.
With the two losses to start the season, AMU falls to 0-2.
The Gyrenes wrap up their stay in the Land of Lincoln Saturday, August 16, with two more matches in the Tigers Kickoff Invite. The day starts with an early 10 am CT match against the Bethel Pilots and concludes with a noon CT match against the Mount Mercy Mustangs. Both matches will be the first ever meetings for the Gyrenes against their opponents on the volleyball court. Both games will be streamed live on the Tigers Sports Network with the link available on the Ave Maria schedule page.
