Grace Beitzel was one of three players to finish with double-digit kills and came up big late to lead St. Ambrose to a season-opening 25-17, 27-25, 21-25, 26-24 win at Graceland Thursday night.

Beitzel posted a match-high 21 kills and had just two hitting errors to hit .559 in the victory. Returning All-American Mackenzie Grafton put down 14 kills and Trenyce Bonner collected 10. Kennedy Hugunin finished with eight kills and no errors in 12 swings for a .667 hitting percentage.

After cruising through the opening set and building a 19-9 lead in the second, the Bees were tested the rest of the way.

Graceland put together a 12-1 run to go in front 21-20 late in the second set. The teams exchanged points from there with a big Grafton kill erasing a set point to knot the score at 25-25. Following a Yellowjackets error, SAU was able to grab a two-set lead on another Grafton kill.

SAU fell behind 15-10 midway through the third before mounting a comeback. Two kills from Beitzel and another from Bonner contributed to a 6-1 run that tied the set at 16-16. The Bees stayed close until a late Yellowjacket three-point spurt put Graceland in front 24-19. Three points later, they forced a fourth set.

Two kills from Beitzel, a kill and a block from Bonner, and a service ace from Haley Doucet helped St. Ambrose charge to an 8-2 lead early in what proved to be the final set. The Bees maintained a six-point advantage as late as 13-7 before the Yellowjackets made things interesting. After Graceland had closed to within 21-20, a solo block and a kill from Grafton helped SAU regain a 23-20 lead.

GU responded with three straight points to tie the set at 23-23. Grafton gave the Bees a short-lived 24-23 lead before the Yellowjackets drew even. But then Beitzel capped off her huge night with back-to-back kills to propel the Bees to victory.

Doucet led all players with 40 assists. She also picked up 10 digs in the win. Sofia Pabon Velazquez was credited with seven assists. Kenia Diaz Vega (27), Grafton (11) and Bonner (10) also reached double figures in digs. Bonner, Doucet, Diaz Vega and Kaleigh Bergschneider each had an ace. Alexa Orozco finished with a pair of kills.

St. Ambrose returns to action Friday and Saturday at the Park Invitational. The Bees will play Cornerstone Friday afternoon before battling No. 8 Park and Wayland Baptist on Saturday.