With snow delaying the start of the 2019 season, the Bees finally got things started with a 3-0 win at CCAC rival Saint Xavier Wednesday night.

St. Ambrose got off to a bit of a slow start, falling behind the Cougars 19-16 in the opening set. But a four-point run, keyed by kills from Levi Vermeulen, Jaylen Clark and Scott MacGillis, gave SAU a 20-19 lead. Leading 23-22, the Bees got another kill from MacGillis, and two points later, SAU won the set.

The Bees opened a 16-11 lead in the second set before the Cougars (2-1, 0-1 CCAC) rallied, eventually knotting the score at 18-18. Consecutive kills from Jason Bageanis fueled a four-point run as another MacGillis kill opened up a 22-18 advantage. Two late Vermeulen kills closed out the set.

SAU held a narrow lead throughout the late stages of what proved to be the final set. Saint Xavier was able to fight off a pair of match points before grabbing a 26-25 lead. St. Ambrose responded as Clark and MacGillis teamed for a block to tie the score at 26-26, and then the Bees capitalized on two Cougar setting errors to earn the victory.

MacGillis led all players with 15 kills and seven digs. Vermeulen had 10 kills and Clark and Zach Schmidt each put down eight. Jake Snyder paced the team with 39 assists.

The Bees will play their home opener Thursday night against Graceland. The match is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. in Lee Lohman Arena.