LAKE WALES, Fla. — The Ave Maria Volleyball team notched a nifty four-set win Saturday against the Warner Royals. The two teams battled it out in the first two sets, each taking a frame, but then the Gyrenes took control of the match in the final two sets to win 3-1.
The opening frame need two extra points to decide a winner, but the Gyrenes were first on the board with a 26-24 win. Ave Maria got off to a fantastic start, winning eight of the first 10 points. However, Warner clawed their way back and eventually took the lead. The Royals led by five points multiple times in the set, but the pesky Gyrenes would not go away. Warner reached set point at 24-22, but the clinching point remained ever out of reach. Elle Malczewski notched a kill on the first set point. Caroline Myers then logged her first ace of the match to even the score at 24. A kill from Emily Child put the Gyrenes in front for the first time in 28 points, and an attack error from the Royals finished the job as Ave Maria took the set.
The second set ran similar to the first, except it was missing a comeback from the Gyrenes. Just like the opening frame, Ave Maria took an early lead, but Warner recaptured the advantage in the middle of the set. The hole in the second set was too large to dig out from as Ave Maria fell 25-19.
Knotted up at one set apiece, the Gyrenes took control of the match. Ave Maria logged 21 kills in the first two sets of the match. In the final two, they record 29 kills with 13 in the third set and 16 in the fourth.
The third set was back-and-forth between the two teams at the beginning. The Gyrenes remained in front for almost the entirety of the set, but the Royals were always within a few points. With an 18-16 lead, Ave Maria broke out on a 7-2 run to clinch the set. Six of the seven points were off kills from Malczewski, Mara Delyon and Greta Heiney. The final and winning point was a punctuating service ace from Maylis DeTar.
The fourth frame opened with a dominant run from the Gyrenes once again. Matching their opening the first set, the Gyrenes took eight of the first 10 points. Warner worked to a 16-16 tie, but a 9-5 run secured the set and match for Ave Maria. Caroline Myers logged the final kill of the match as the Gyrenes grabbed the road win.
As a team, Ave Maria totaled 50 kills in the match. Child, Heiney and Malczewski all tied for the team lead at 10.
The Gyrenes also had a tie at setter as Myers and Maria Teixeira each notched 21 assists.
Behind the service line, Ave Maria logged nine aces, the most since August 21. Ryan Getz led the team with three aces. Myers and DeTar each had multiple aces as well.
Defensively, Ave Maria logged 98 digs as a team, their highest total of the season. Five players hit double digits with DeTar leading the way at 22. Teixeira and Myers each logged a double-double between digs and assists. Teixeira had 13 digs and Myers had 10.
At the net, Malczewski and Child led the team with three total blocks. All three of Malczewski's blocks were solo so she led the team with 13 points.
With the win, Ave Maria improves to 6-3 overall and 2-2 in conference play. The Gyrenes are also 2-2 on the road this year.
Ace Maria stays on the road as they take a tripe east to West Palm Beach to take on the Keiser Seahawks. Keiser is also 2-2 in conference play but are 5-7 overall. Opening serve is set for 6:30 p.m. and the match will be streamed live on the Sun Digital Network.
