SARASOTA, Fla. — The Sun Conference Beach Volleyball Tournament kicked off Friday with eight teams competing for the Conference Championship. In the first day of action, Ave Maria won both matches in clean 3-0 sweeps to advance straight to the semifinals. The Gyrenes first beat the Warner Royals and then the Webber Warriors.
In the first match of the day, Ave Maria won the first three flights to finish to clinch the match against the Royals. Beatriz Rissi and Maria Teixeira were the first to finish, winning the fourth flight 21-13, 21-11.
The second position was the second to finish as Ryan Getz and Ines Lopes got their first win of the tournament, winning in three sets. Getz and Lopes dropped the first frame 16-21 but then stormed back and won the second and third sets 21-19 and 16-14. The final frame needed an extra point to be played, but the two Gyrenes were able to get the win.
The match clinching point came in the fifth flight as Maylis DeTar and Abbey Grose beat their counterparts 21-14, 21-15.
Warner won the first set in the other two flights that didn't finish, but the Gyrenes were leading in the second set in both positions when the match was called in favor of Ave Maria.
With the win, the Gyrenes stayed in the winner's bracket. In the second match of the day, they took on Webber who beat Loyola in the first round. Again, the Gyrenes won the first three positions to clinch the match.
The same three pairs that scored for the Gyrenes in the first match scored in the second match. They just finished in a different order.
Against the Warriors, it was Lopes and Getz to finish first, winning two quick sets 21-13, 21-12.
The second point was scored by Rissi and Teixeira in the fourth flight, winning 21-16, 21-16.
The winning point came in the fifth flight as Grose and DeTar outlasted the Warriors, winning 21-19, 21-17.
Elle Malczewski and Greta Heiney were in the middle of a third set when the match was called in favor of the Gyrenes. In the top position, Adriana Bravo and Mara Delyon played in the highest scoring set of the day for the Gyrenes, unfortunately falling 30-28 in the opening frame. They were leading in the second set when the match was called.
With the two wins, Ave Maria improves to 13-3 overall and advances to the semifinal bracket. The Gyrenes will take on the winner of St. Thomas and Mobile, who are playing each other in an elimination game in the loser's bracket. The semifinal match is set to start at 11 a.m. If the Gyrenes win that, they will go off to the Sun Conference Championship. Ave Maria has made the championship game twice in program history but lost both times. Saturday they look to win both matches and make school history.
