Photo by Olivia English
MESA, Ariz. — For the first time in program history, the Ave Maria Gyrenes competed in the NAIA Beach Volleyball National Tournament. Unfortunately for the Gyrenes, their time on the national stage did not start the way they thought it would. Ave Maria lost their first match to Southern Oregon 4-1 and their second match to Ottawa (AZ) 5-0.
In the first match of the weekend, Ave Maria took on the number one overall seed Southern Oregon Raiders. The Gyrenes took a point from the top team but fell 4-1.
Ave Maria won their lone point in the second position as Ines Lopes and Ryan Getz took their flight 21-14, 24-22. Lopes and Getz were the first to finish, giving Ave Maria an early lead in the match.
However, the Raiders stormed back and won the four remaining positions to win the match. Three of the four flights were two-set sweeps for Southern Oregon. The fourth position was the lone flight to go all three sets. After dropping the first set 21-14, Beatriz Rissi and Maria Teixeira won the second set 22-20 to even up the flight. The third and final frame needed four extra points to decide a winner, but Southern Oregon took the set 17-15 to clinch the point.
In the second match of the day, Ave Maria fell 5-0 to the Ottawa Spirit. Ottawa won three of the five flights in two sets as the Spirit won their second match of the day.
The two positions that went three sets were the third and fourth flights. The fourth position was the first of the two to finish. In it, Rissi and Teixeira again put up a fight and won their first set 21-15.
Unfortunately, they dropped the second set 21-12 and then lost the deciding third set by a score of 17-15 for the second match in a row.
In the third position, Elle Malczewski and Greta Heiney also won their first set, winning 21-12, the biggest set win of the day for the Gyrenes. However, Ottawa battled back with a 21-11 win in the second frame and took the deciding third set 15-12.
With the two losses, Ave Maria starts pool play 0-2.
The Gyrenes have one more pool match before the knockout stage begins. Ave Maria's final pool match is against the eighth seeded Wayland Baptist Pioneers. Wayland Baptist also lost both matches Thursday, tying them with Ave Maria for third place in Pool A. The winner of the match will hold onto third place and play whoever finishes second in Pool B in the quarterfinals, which is shared right now between The Master's and New College. The loser between Ave Maria and Wayland Baptist will take on the winner of Pool B in the quarterfinals, which right now is Corban.
The match between the Gyrenes and Pioneers is set for noon Pacific, 3 p.m. Eastern. Live stats for the match can be found on the Ave Maria Athletics website.
