It came down to a handful of points. And unfortunately for the Bees, they didn't go their way. It resulted in a 25-27, 26-24, 32-30, 25-20 loss at Cardinal Stritch.

SAU had its chances.

The Bees rallied from a 24-23 deficit in the opener. A kill from Jason Bageanis fought off the set point and then SAU used its defense, getting blocks from Bageanis and Jeramie Gutierrez and another from Bageanis and Jake Snyder to take the first set.

SAU had another rally in the second. Trailing 22-17, the Bees put together a 6-1 run. Gutierrez had two kills, Colin Teresi had another, and Mikolaj Zielonka and Nick Fox combined for a block during the spurt that drew the teams even at 23-23. The set was tied at 24-24 before the Wolves won the final two to even the match.

The third set went back and forth. St. Ambrose had a two-point lead as late as 22-20 before Cardinal Stritch ran off four straight points for a 24-22 lead. A Gutierrez kill and a block from Fox and Skyler Marushige knotted the score at 24-24. Those were the first two of five set points the Bees would erase in the third. 

The Bees themselves had three set points in the third, the last coming at 29-28 following a block from Bageanis and Snyder. The set was last tied at 30-30 after a Marushige kill before the Wolves claimed the final two points for a 2-1 lead.

St. Ambrose stayed within striking distrance throughout the fourth set. The deficit was just 19-16 before back-to-back CSU points gave the Wolves some breathing room. A Bageanis and Gutierrez block closed the gap to 23-20 before the Bee comeback stalled.

"Well it was a tough loss because we were so close, but it's the best match we have played yet," head coach Ray Green said. "We are moving in the right direction."

Marushige made his return to the lineup and posted 11 kills without a single hitting error. He also had eight digs. Bageanis had 10 kills, Gutierrez and Fox had nine apiece, and Teresi added seven.

Snyder finished with 45 of the team's 48 assists. Gutierrez and Richard Reed each picked up six digs.

SAU, now 0-6 overall and 0-3 in the CCAC, will visit Calumet St. Joseph Saturday.