The Ave Maria University volleyball team saw their season come to an end Friday night in heartwrenching fashion, as the Gyrenes dropped a five-set match to the Keiser University Seahawks in the semifinals of the 2022 Sun Conference Tournament. The match was the third between the Gyrenes and Seahawks this season to go to five sets, with AMU winning in West Palm Beach and Keiser winning in Ave Maria and Miami Gardens.
The Gyrenes started Friday's match well, claiming a 25-21 win in the first set. The Gyrenes used a late surge to claim victory in the opening frame, outscoring the Seahawks 6-2 in the final eight points of the set. Katie Grose helped power that surge with a pair of kills, and Cabriella Bouterse put the set away with a kill of her own.
Keiser took the next two sets, including a nailbiting second. The Gyrenes withstood three set points in the second set, but could not overcome the fourth as the Seahawks claimed a 29-27 win. In the third, Keiser jumped out to an early lead, but Ave Maria would rally before the Seahawks scored the final four points of the set in a 25-21 victory.
With their season on the line, the Gyrenes battled back for a 25-18 victory in the fourth set. Ave Maria never trailed in the fourth, using a 8-1 run to widen an 8-7 lead to 16-8. The Seahawks would not be able to threaten the Gyrenes for the remainder of the set, never getting closer than five points before a Madelyn Haut block sent the match to a fifth set.
After a stellar showing in the fourth, the Gyrenes could not keep the momentum into the fifth set. Keiser never trailed in the decisive frame, as the Seahawks opened up a 7-2 lead early on. AMU got back within three on several occasions, but couldn't get any closer between Keiser closed out a 15-10 win.
In the final match of her senior season, Cabriella Bouterse led the Gyrenes with 21 kills, while Madelyn Haut followed with 18. Haut also added a school record 12 total blocks in the semifinal, while Abigail Costlow added six blocks to hit 101 for the season, also a school record. With 41 assists, Lily Witkoski became the school's all-time leader in assists, as well as the first player in school history to top 2,000 assists for her career.
Keiser advances to tomorrow's championship match against St. Thomas, while the Gyrenes' season comes to an end with an overall record of 19-6.
Original source can be found here.
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