MIAMI GARDENS, Fla- STU women's volleyball took on Ave Maria on Wednesday evening inside the Fernandez Family Center. STU came into the contest with a 5-2 record and was looking to rebound after a disappointing loss on Tuesday to Northwood University. Ave Maria came into the match with a 3-4 record and was looking to get some momentum going. STU lost the match in straight sets 3-0.

In the first set Ave Maria got off to a strong start going up 20 to 14 before coach Sifontes would call his first timeout. STU looked sloppy and out of sync in the first set. Ave Maria would take the first set 25 to 19.

Ave Maria's coach John Leonard was happy with his team's performance after the match. “I thought we played very well, we were very consistent” coach Leonard said We had a lot of intensity on both offense and defense and we played one of our best matches of the year.”

The lackadaisical play continued in the second set with STU quickly going down 3-1. Ave Maria would go on an impressive run and go up 16-12 before STU would call their second and final timeout of the set. Ave Maria would win the second set 25-19. STU would be plagued by errors, which would account for the difference in the match. At the end of the second set STU had committed 13 total team errors as opposed to Ave Maria's 7.

Coach Sifontes felt that the loss was due to the same inconsistencies they have run into lately. “We are still working out the kinks coach Sifontes said we are working through new rotations.” Coach Sifontes attributed his team's latest slump to a lack of unity in crunch time. “We are not getting together as we should in high pressure situations.”

The third set was a tightly contested game with STU rallying back to take a 23-22 lead before Ave Maria would call a timeout. STU would subsequently commit two quick errors and go down 24-23 before another quick timeout by coach Friedman Sifontes. Ave Maria would go on to win the third set and match 26-24.