AVE MARIA, Fla. — For the second match in a row, the Ave Maria Volleyball team took a 2-1 lead in the third set. For the second match in a row, the Gyrenes could not get the job done in the fourth set and needed a fifth final frame to settle the game. And for the second match in a row, the fifth set did not go the Gyrenes way.
The Ave Maria Volleyball team lost another five-set heartbreaker Tuesday night, falling to the Florida College Falcons 3-2.
Like the majority of the season, Ave Maria opened strong and won the first 25-19. Ave Maria exploded in the middle of the set, winning seven of eight points and going from tied at seven to leading 14-8. The Gyrenes' largest lead in the frame was eight points and cruised the rest of the frame. The winning point was off a block from Emily Child and Lillian Dauses. Ave Maria has now won the first set in 10 of their 14 matches.
Florida College came back with a vengeance in the second set, winning 17 of the first 24 points to take a big 17-7 lead. However, the Gyrenes did not go down without a fight in the second frame and went on a big run of their own. Down by 10 points, Ave Maria went on a 14-6 run to get back with two of the Falcons. Unfortunately, the Gyrenes ran out of time as Florida College won two of the next three point to win the frame 25-22.
After switch sides, the Gyrenes won an exciting third set 25-23. Both the Gyrenes and Falcons worked eight ties and five lead changes in just the first 28 points of the frame. AMU took control of the set after that and went on a 10-3 run to reach set point. Florida College battled and fought off six set points, but finally a kill from Greta Heiney secured the frame and the point for the Gyrenes.
The fourth set was when things started to go sideways for the Gyrenes. The two teams were neck and neck with each other for the majority of the frame. Another Ave Maria block, this time from Lucy Hudson and Elle Malczewski, tied the set at 18 and the Gyrenes had their eyes set on closing out the match. However, Florida College won the next three points to take a 21-18 lead and boxed out Ave Maria for the rest of the set. The Gyrenes got within a point twice, but the Falcons won the final three points to win the set 25-21.
In the deciding fifth set, a cold start buried the Gyrenes. Florida College won six of the first eight points and never looked back. Ave Maria fought off two match points before the Falcons put the game away with a 15-9 win in the final frame.
Child was Ave Maria's leading attacker with 11 kills. Malczewski and Heiney were right behind her with nine, one away from double digits.
Caroline Myers was the leading setter with 22 assists. Maria Teixiera was right behind her with 15.
Myers also led the team with six aces behind the service line. It was a career-high for the senior, who also became just the second ever Gyrene to record 100+ aces in school history and is now just one back of tying Haley Wonka (2010-13) for the most career aces ever in a Gyrene uniform (106). As a team, the Gyrenes matched their season-high of 12 aces in the match, with Mara Delyon and Delaney Gilmore also recorded multiple aces.
Defensively, Maylis DeTar led the team in digs with 25. Delyon also hit double figures with 14. At the net, Hudson led the team with seven total blocks.
With the loss, Ave Maria falls to 6-8 on the season.
The Gyrenes are on the road for the next three matches, starting with a conference match against the Florida Memorial Lions Wednesday, October 14. The Gyrenes swept the Lions 3-0 in their first meeting on September 9 and FMU has yet to win a match this season. Opening serve is set for 7 p.m. and the match will be streamed live on the Sun Digital Network.
