St. Ambrose started its 2022 season with a 3-1 loss at NCAA Division II Quincy University Tuesday night. Set scores were 25-13, 25-21, 21-25, 25-19.

After a slow start, the Bees stepped up their play over the final three sets. SAU trailed just 18-17 late in the second set before a five-point QU run broke things open.

St. Ambrose pulled through in the third. With the Bees leading by a point at 19-18, Jason Bageanis had a kill and an ace. That was followed by a Bee block to open a 22-18 advantage. Quincy (3-0) rallied to get within 22-20, but a Hawk serving error and a kill from Jeramie Gutierrez reopened a four-point lead and SAU closed out the set two points later.

The Bees stayed with the Hawks throughout much of the fourth set. The deficit was just 17-15 before a 3-0 run allowed Quincy to take control of the set. SAU got as close as 20-18 before dropping five of the final six points.

"We definitely had some first-match jitters, but once we got into set 2, we started playing good volleyball," SAU head coach Ray Green said. "I liked what I saw tonight and I'm excited about our potential this season."

Bageanis led St. Ambrose with 11 kills against a single hitting error. Gutierrez was also credited with 11 kills. Colin Teresi and Nick Fox each had seven kills and Mikolaj Zielonka picked up four.

Jake Snyder led the Bees with 36 assists and Jesse Moreno collected a team-best nine digs.

St. Ambrose will open the home portion of its schedule Thursday when the Bees host Viterbo at 7 p.m. inside Lee Lohman Arena.