BRADENTON, Fla.- The Ave Maria University volleyball team grabbed an early lead, but could not win their Sun Conference opener Saturday evening, falling in four sets to the Mighty Banyans of New College of Florida in Bradenton. The Gyrenes claimed a 25-23 victory in the first set before falling 25-10, 25-15, 27-25 in the final three frames.
In the first set, the Gyrenes took advantage of miscues from the Mighty Banyans. 16 of AMU's 25 points in the set were the result of New College errors - 10 attack errors and six service errors. Thanks to those mistakes, the Gyrenes led for much of the set, taking a one-set lead thanks to a service error on their second attempt at set point.
The script flipped in the second set, as Ave Maria became the mistake-prone team. The Gyrenes committed 11 attack errors to just four kills, recording an attack percentage of -.241. New College needed just eight kills to roll to a 25-10 victory, using an 11-3 run in the middle of the frame to turn a 9-4 NCF lead into a 20-7 Mighty Banyan rout.
After two sets that were marked by errors, the Mighty Banyans took control in the third set with a dominant effort at the net. The hosts racked up 15 kills on 29 swings in the third frame, and recorded a .517 attack percentage without committing an error. The Gyrenes were able to keep up early, having the score tied at 14, before NCF finished the frame on an 11-1 run.
Ave Maria had a chance to force a fifth set, as the fourth frame came down to the wire. After facing two straight match points at 24-22 and 24-23, the Gyrenes scored three straight points to take a 25-24 lead and give themselves a set point. Unfortunately for AMU, the Gyrenes committed attack errors on three straight points, allowing the Mighty Banyans to finish things off with a 27-25 win.
Emily Child led Ave Maria with seven kills in the losing effort, while Greta Heiney and Kaitlyn Anderson followed with five each. Caroline Myers was the team's leading setter, recording 14 of the team's 27 assists. Maylis DeTar put in a solid effort on the defensive end, finishing with 22 digs.
Saturday's match was the first of eight straight conference matches for Ave Maria. The Gyrenes return to the friendly confines of the Tom Golisano Field House on Wednesday, taking on the Lions of Florida Memorial University. AMU has won each of the past four meetings between the teams, sweeping the season series in both 2024 and 2025. Opening serve in Ave Maria is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
