SARASOTA, Fla. — The Ave Maria Volleyball team fell in the Sun Conference Quarterfinals Tuesday night, bringing an end to the 2026 season. The Gyrenes fell to the New College of Florida Mighty Banyans in three sets 25-15, 25-21, 25-15.
The Gyrenes had a tough time generating offense Tuesday night as they committed 23 errors to just 22 kills for a negative hitting percentage. New College also dominated behind the service line with 13 aces to Ave Maria's four.
The Gyrenes got out to a very strong start in the first set, putting together a 5-0 run to take an 8-5 lead. AMU got three kills, a block and an attack error from New College during the run. The Gyrenes hung onto the lead for a little bit, but then the Mighty Banyans took off on a 13-2 run, taking an eight-point lead. There wasn't much Ave Maria could do as New College went on to clinch the opening frame by a margin of 10 points.
The momentum stayed with the Mighty Banyans through the beginning of the second set. New College of Florida won 14 of the first 17 points to take a 14-3 lead. However, the Gyrenes did not quit and played some of their best volleyball of the season. Ave Maria responded with a 15-4 run of their own to tie the set at 18 points. AMU won the last five points of the run in a row, getting two kills, an ace and two errors from the Mighty Banyans. Lucy Hudson delivered the tying blow, getting an assist from Caroline Myers.
Unfortunately, tying was the best the Gyrenes would get in the second frame. New College outscored Ave Maria 7-3 in the final 10 points to win 25-21.
Just like in the second set, New College got out to a big lead in the third set, taking a 15-6 lead. However, unlike the second set, Ave Maria did not compile a monumental comeback and just scored nine more points as New College went on to 25-15 and clinch the match.
Elle Malczewski led the Gyrene attack Tuesday night, logging 11 kills and hitting double digits for the eighth time this season. The senior ends her career with 622 kills, which ranks her sixth all-time in Ave Maria history. She was the only one to hit double figures in the Quarterfinal.
Megan Klockner was the leading setter with 10 assists. Myers was right behind her with eight assists, bringing her career total to a final 1448 assists, which ranks fourth all-time in program history.
Behind the line, the Gyrenes got four aces, two from Mara Delyon and one each from Maylis DeTar and Myers, who broke the program record earlier in the season and has cemented the new record at 115.
Defensively, Maylis DeTar led the team with 16 digs, followed by Delyon with 13. DeTar finishes the season with 394 digs, which ranks as the third-most in a single season in program history.
At the net, the Gyrenes had three blocks from six different players. Hudson led the team in 2026 with 55 total blocks.
With the loss, Ave Maria finishes the 2026 campaign with a record of 9-13. It is the fifth straight season the Gyrenes have lost in the Sun Conference Quarterfinals. Ave Maria's last postseason win was in 2021 when they beat Coastal Georgia for the Sun Conference Championship.
Now that the indoor season has come to a close, the Gyrenes turn their attention to the sand. Ave Maria won the Sun Conference Beach Volleyball Tournament for the first time in program history in April and now look to defend that title in 2027.
