BRADENTON, Fla. — The Ave Maria Volleyball team opened their Sun Conference schedule Friday afternoon and won a thrilling match over the New College of Florida Mighty Banyans. Not only did the two teams need all five sets to decide a winner, but they were also tied at 14 in the final frame and needed to play extra points before the Gyrenes clinched the match.
New College jumped out to an early lead, taking the opening set 25-15. The Mighty Banyans won 11 of the first 14 points and cruised against the Gyrenes from there. AMU registered five kills in the frame but were the beneficiary of seven attack errors from NCF to make up almost half of their points.
The Gyrenes tied the match at one set apiece in the second frame winning 25-17. This time is the Gyrenes who raced out to an early lead in the set, winning 12 of the first 18 points. New College got back within two, but the Gyrenes closed out the set with a 10-4 run. The Gyrenes recorded three aces in the second set, two from Maria Teixeira and one from Caroline Myers. Again, Ave Maria benefited from New College miscues as the Mighty Banyans committed 10 attack errors.
Ave Maria grabbed the lead in a tightly contested third set, winning 25-22. New College was in front for most of the frame, leading by eight points at their biggest advantage. The Gyrenes surged back, winning 16 of the last 22 points to take the set. Emily Child got the final two kills of the frame to secure the set for the Gyrenes.
The fourth set was almost the exact reverse of the third set, with Gyrenes leading in the beginning but the Mighty Banyans surging at the end to force a fifth set. New College ended the frame with a 13-2 run, taking the set 25-16.
Neither team went on a big run in the deciding set, instead going back and forth a couple of points at a time. The Gyrenes were first to reach match point, taking a 14-12 lead with a kill from Mara Delyon. However, the Mighty Banyans fought their way out of the corner and won the next two sets to tie the frame 14-14. Now needing to win by two, Child put the Gyrenes back in front with her ninth kill of the afternoon. Back at match point, Ave Maria forced one more attack error from New College to win the set and the match.
With the win, Ave Maria improves to 2-5 on the season and starts league play at 1-0. Friday was the Gyrenes' second match of the season to go all five sets and their first five-set win since October 26, 2024, when they beat Warner.
Greta Heiney led the team in kills with 10, hitting double digits for the third time this season. Child was next on the team with nine kills. Caroline Myers was the leading setter for the Gyrenes with 14 assists in the match. She also recorded her first double-double of the season with 10 digs. Defensively, Maylis DeTar led the team in digs with 23. Two other Gyrenes had double-digit digs. Behind the line, Delyon led the team with three service aces.
The Gyrenes will stay in the Sun Coast as they will play a neutral site doubleheader Saturday, September 6, against Florida College and Florida National. Ave Maria fell to Florida College 3-0 August 26 and beat Florida National 3-0 the next day on August 27. Saturday is the second of three times the Gyrenes will face each opponent.
