AVE MARIA, Fla. — The Ave Maria Volleyball team got into the win column for the first time Wednesday night in their home opener against the Florida National Conquistadors. It was a clean sweep win for the Gyrenes who took a tightly contested first set and then overpowered the Conquistadors in the next two to win 25-22, 25-18, 25-18. Florida National came charging out of the gate in the first set and led the Gyrenes for many of the points. That all changed after Ave Maria went on a 12-3 run, putting them at set point. Nine of the Gyrenes 12 points were off kills, with Elle Malczewski and Mara Delyon leading the way with three each. Florida National got two points back to get with two of Ave Maria, but a service error from the Conquistadors clinched the set for the Gyrenes.
The second set featured a just as impressive run for the Gyrenes, scoring 14 points in a 16-point stretch. Ave Maria went from down 9-6 to up 20-11 in just a matter of moments. Again, it was the front court leading the way for the Gyrenes with 14 of those points consisting of eight kills. The other six points came from FNU errors. The conquistadors tried to come back in the second frame, but a nine-point deficit was too high as the Gyrenes closed out the set with another kill from Delyon.
The third set did not feature any big runs from the Gyrenes, but just constant pressure from Ave Maria as they put Florida National away. The longest scoring stretch for Ave Maria was at the end of the set as the Gyrenes scored four straight point to close the frame and the match…