WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — The Ave Maria Volleyball team secured two wins in the first two matches of the season Friday, sweeping their opening doubleheader of the Carolina Classic. The day started off with a clean three-set sweep of the Spartanburg Methodist Pioneers and ended with a gritty 3-2 victory over the host Carolina Bruins.
In the opening match, Ave Maria never let the Pioneers get over 20 points as they won 25-18, 25-17, 25-16. Ave Maria won the first five points of the opening set and never looked back. That was not their longest run of the frame though, as later on in the set Ave Maria scored six straight points to go from trailing by one to leading by five. The run was powered by three straight aces from Elle Malczewski. For the whole set, the Gyrenes totaled 11 kills to just two errors on the attack as they cruised to an easy victory in the first set.
The second set was close in the early stages but then the Gyrenes ripped off another 6-0 to again lead by five. Later on in the frame, Ave Maria went on their biggest run of the match, winning eight straight points to get a point away from leading 2-0. The Pioneers won one point to extend the set, but an attack error clinched the second frame for the Gyrenes.
The third set was the biggest margin for the Gyrenes as they won by nine points. Ave Maria's longest run in the final set was six points, going from leading 15-12 to 21-12. A few points later, a bad set from Spartanburg Methodist clinch the set and the match for the Gyrenes.
As a team, the Gyrenes totaled 32 kills in the opening match. Greta Heiney led the team with seven. The leading setter for the Gyrenes was Carolina Myers, logging 11 assists in the opening match.
Behind the line, Ave Maria logged 11 service aces. Malczewski led the team with five, and Myers was right behind her with four. Maylis DeTar and Ryan Getz each recorded an ace as well.
Defensively, Lucy Hudson led the team at the net with three total blocks, two assisted and one solo. Malczewski led the team in digs with 11. Heiney also hit double digits with 10.
Following the win, the Gyrenes hung around for about five and a half hours until the returned to the court to take on the host Carolina Bruins.
The second match of the day was a back-and-forth game with each team trading sets. The Gyrenes took the first, third and fifth sets to win the match 25-18, 20-25, 25-15, 25-19, 15-11.
Ave Maria did not break much of a sweat in the opening frame, putting together multiple runs to win 25-18. The Gyrenes logged 12 kills during the set, the most they recorded in a frame all day. A kill from Lilian Dauses is what secured the set winning point for the Gyrenes.
Ave Maria stumbled for the first time in the second set, falling 25-20. The Bruins built up an early lead and the Gyrene could fight their way back in front.
In the third set, the Gyrenes came back with a vengeance, winning 25-15, their biggest margin of victory the whole day. Ave Maria won 20 of the first 28 points to rocket out to a 12-point lead and get five points away from clinching the set. For the whole frame, Ave Maria notched 10 kills to just two errors. After a little back and forth, the Gyrenes clinched the frame off a bad set from Carolina and took a 2-1 lead.
The Bruins came right back in the fourth set and won 25-19. The Gyrenes did it to themselves in the fourth set, posting their lone negative hitting percentage of the day with 10 errors to eight kills. The Gyrenes fought off set point for four points, going from 24-15 to 24-19. However, a Bruins' kill sent the match to a fifth and final set.
The final set of the night was the closest by far with neither team getting out to more than a two-point lead early in the frame. A service error put the Bruins up 11-9, but then the Gyrenes flipped a switch. Ave Maria won the final six points of the match, three of which were off kills. The Bruins called both of their timeouts during the run trying to ice the Gyrenes, but Ave Maria held steady to secure the set and the match.
The Gyrenes finished the match with 47 kills. Emily Child led the team with a career-high 19 kills. With just eight errors as well, she posted a team-high .268 hitting percentage for the match. Newcomer Kaityn Anderson was second on the team with seven kills.
Myers was the leading setter with 22 assists. Maria Teixeira was right behind her with 15 assists.
Behind the line, Ave Maria recorded 12 service aces, matching their season-high in 2025. Myers led the team with four, followed by Teixeira at three, Malczewski at two and DeTar, Anderson and Getz each at one.
Defensively, freshman Ellen Mowbray led the team at the net with three blocks, all solo. DeTar led the team with 29 digs, followed by Myers at 15 and Malczewski at 11.
With the wins, Ave Maria starts the 2026 season 2-0. It is the first time since 2009 that the Gyrenes have won their first two matches of the season. They are also the first two wins under new head coach John Schmidt.
The Gyrenes close out the Carolina Classic Saturday afternoon against the Bryan Lions. It is the first time since 2022 that the Gyrenes have played the Lions. Opening serve is set for 2:30 p.m. from Winston-Salem and the match will be streamed live on the Carolina Bruins website, the link to which can be found the volleyball schedule page.
