SARASOTA, Fla. — History made.
Third time's the charm as the Ave Maria Beach Volleyball team won their first ever Sun Conference Championship. The Gyrenes fell in the championship match in 2023 and 2024 but won both their matches Saturday to claim their first ever Sun Conference Title.
The Gyrenes won the tournament Saturday by beating the St. Thomas Bobcats 3-1 in the semifinals and then beat the New College of Florida Mighty Banyans 3-2 in the championship.
In the semifinal match, Ryan Getz and Ines Lopes got the Gyrenes on the board with a 25-23, 21-11 win in the second position. The pair needed a few extra points in the opening set but got the job done to win a clean, two-set sweep.
Beatriz Rissi and Maria Teixiera put the Gyrenes up 2-0 with a win in the fourth flight. Rissi and Teixeira needed three sets to win as St. Thomas won the opening frame 21-18. The two battled back and won the second set 21-14 and then took the deciding third frame 15-13.
The Bobcats got on the board with a 21-12, 21-13 win in the top flight. It was the first point the Gyrenes had given up in the tournament.
Ave Maria clinched the semifinal just a few moments later with a win in the third position. Greta Heiney and Elle Malzcewski had a strong showing in the semifinal, winning their flight 23-21, 21-12. The win put the Gyrenes up 3-1 and punched their ticket to the Sun Conference Championship.
Awaiting the Gyrenes in the final match were the New College of Florida Mighty Banyans. The Mighty Banyans had been the only Sun Conference team to beat the Gyrenes in the regular season and earned the top seed in the bracket.
The championship match lived up to the hype of the top two teams in the conference battling in the sand. All five positions were needed as Ave Maria won 3-2.
Rissi and Teixeira got the Gyrenes on the board first with a 21-17, 21-19 win in the fourth position. The two were the only pair to win all four of their flights in the tournament.
New College evened up the match at one point apiece with a win in the second flight. Getz and Lopes battled hard and won the first set 22-20 but fell in the second set 21-18 and New College took the deciding frame 15-12. It was the only loss of the tournament for Getz and Lopes who finished the weekend 3-1.
The Mighty Banyans took the lead with a two-set win in the top position. The 21-14, 21-12 win put the Gyrenes in a corner as they had to win the final two flights.
The fifth flight was the next to finish as Maylis DeTar and Abbey Grose turned in a two-set win to tie up the match. The pair needed an extra point in the second set to win the position, but got the job done with a 21-17, 22-20 win. DeTar and Grose finished the weekend with a 3-0 record and one unfinished match.
Tied at two, the match came down to third flight. And as if the drama were not high enough, that flight needed a third set to determine a winner.
Heiney and Malczewski won the first set 21-16, but the Mighty Banyans took the next one 21-15. The Gyrene pair led for most of the third and final set. Up 14-12, Heiney and Malczewski battled the Mighty Banyans through 14 rallies and finally a bump from Heiney pushed ball passed the New College pair and landed right in front of the line for the championship winning point.
The Gyrenes then rushed the sand as they won their first ever Sun Conference championship.
"It was super exciting and I think it was just a big team effort. We do everything for each other" said Heiney after the match.
The Gyrenes come home champions and now await to see which seed they will get in the NAIA National Invitational, which is April 23-25 in Mesa, Arizona.
