St. Ambrose pushed Augustana to the limit before falling 25-16, 24-26, 28-26, 30-32, 15-10 Wednesday night in Rock Island, Ill.

After forcing a fifth set, the Bees watched the Vikings use an early four-point run to take a 6-2 lead in that decisive set. A block from Charlie Flynn and Mikolaj Zielonka and a Jon Guch kill helped SAU close within a point at 8-7. But Augustana (12-1) responded with three straight points to regain control. St. Ambrose got no closer than three points the rest of the way.

The ending came after the Bees rallied from a slow start.

Down 1-0, SAU faced multiple set points in the second. But an Augustana serving error followed by kills from Flynn and Zielonka put the Bees in front. Flynn and Cael Anderson then combined for a block to even the match at one set apiece.

St. Ambrose had its chance to take the lead in the third, going in front 18-14 on a Zielonka ace. A Guch and Nick Fox block handed the Bees a 20-19 lead. The teams went back and forth from there with the Bees fighting off three set points before ultimately falling 28-26.

The fourth set also featured late drama with SAU unable to close out a 24-22 lead. The teams traded points before finally, on their ninth set point, the Bees were able to extend the match on a Zielonka kill.

Augustana finished with 65 kills and a .272 hitting percentage while St. Ambrose (1-15) collected 53 kills and hit at a .193 clip. The difference in overall numbers can be traced back to the opening set when the Vikings had 13 kills and three hitting errors and the Bees posted seven of each.

Zielonka led SAU with 17 kills. Guch was right behind with 16. Flynn had eight, Anderson and Fox each had five and Dan Rice put down two.

Anthony Anderson shared match-high honors with 43 assists. Ethan Karban picked up a team-best 13 digs. Zielonka had 10, Guch nine and Anthony Anderson eight. Fox was in on five total blocks.

SAU will return home to host No. 12 Jamestown Friday.