Bees drop conference match at St. Francis
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
St. Ambrose (IA) (5-10, 0-3) | 24 | 14 | 22 | 0 |
|
St. Francis (IL) (11-9, 3-1) | 26 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
St. Ambrose fell to 0-3 in CCAC action following a three-set loss at St. Francis Tuesday night. The 26-24, 25-14, 25-22 setback dropped the Bees to 5-10 overall.
The first set will haunt SAU.
The Bees ripped off a five-point run to turn a 16-12 deficit into a 17-16 advantage. After USF drew even at 17-17, a kill from Grace Beitzel and a Saints hitting error put the Bees in front 19-17. St. Ambrose maintained a two-point lead as late as 23-21 following an Alexa Orozco kill.
But SAU would claim just one more point the rest of the set, that on an Orozco kill that gave the Bees a set point at 24-23. St. Francis won the final three points to steal the opener.
The second set was a struggle. As the Saints put down 12 kills against just one error, the Bees managed nine kills and 10 errors. That allowed USF to take a 2-0 lead.
The third set featured a much stronger start. Kills from Kylie Brosius, C.J. Starke, Orozco and Mackenzie Grafton helped St. Ambrose build a 7-4 edge. Later in the third, Haley Doucet followed a Beitzel kill with an ace to put the Bees in front 17-16. A Grafton kill had the lead at 18-17. But St. Francis followed with three straight points and ultimately built a 23-20 lead. Kills from Orozco and Kennedy Hugunin closed the gap to 24-22 before the Saints finished off the victory.
Beitzel led the way with 12 kills. Orozco finished with 10. Grafton put down six while Brosius, Hugunin and Trenyce Bonner each collected a pair.
Ines Marques had a team-best 18 assists while Doucet finished with 11. Kenia Diaz Vega and Grafton were each credited with 10 digs.
The Bees return home to host Indiana South Bend Friday at 6 p.m.