Winning ways return for SAU
| In Progress - 3rd | 1 | 2 | 3 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
St. Ambrose (IA) (0-0,0-0) | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
|
Central Christian (KS) (0-0,0-0) | 17 | 16 | 12 | 0 |
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Morningside (0-0,0-0) | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
|
St. Ambrose (IA) (0-0,0-0) | 12 | 18 | 20 | 0 |
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
St. Ambrose (IA) (0-0,0-0) | 26 | 28 | 16 | 15 | 9 | 2 |
|
Kansas Wesleyan (0-0,0-0) | 24 | 26 | 25 | 25 | 15 | 3 |
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Simpson College (0-0,0-0) | 20 | 14 | 13 | 0 |
|
St. Ambrose (IA) (0-0,0-0) | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
St. Ambrose traveled to Salina, Kan. to compete in the KWU Coyote Classic going 1-1 on Friday evening and 1-1 on Saturday afternoon. SAU saw three new teams in Simpson College, Kansas Wesleyan, and Central Christian. St. Ambrose first competed against Simpson College earning a definitive 3-0 victory. The Bees and Coyotes played a close match but SAU could not outlast, losing 3-2 in all close sets. Morningside was the only familiar foe of the weekend with the Mustangs earning the 3-0 victory. St. Ambrose rolled past Central Christian winning 25-17, 26-16, 25-12 respectively.
Once the Bees took the lead vs. Simpson, they never looked back. Winning set one, 25-20 as sets two and three showed a dominant performance, 25-14 and 25-13. Nick Fox led the way in match one with 11 kills while Jon Guch put down eight. Andreas Indicatti Mariani rallied the offense with 19 assists in the match. Ethan Karban had a team high 18 digs.
The Coyotes took five sets to beat the Bees with two sets going to extra points, SAU pulling out both of those close sets. The final decision was 26-24, 28-26, 16-25, 15-25, and 9-15. Cael Anderson, Nick Fox, and Mikolaj Zielonka combined for 37 kills, Anderson with 11, Fox with 12, and Zielonka with a team high 14. Anthony Anderson and Andreas Indicatti Mariani were neck and neck with 26 and 22 kills respectively. Karban once again led the defense with 20 pickups. Then, Zielonka followed with 14.
St. Ambrose played familiar foe Morningside starting Saturday's doubleheader. Mustangs earned the decision 3-0. SAU was down early but rallied back in all sets. Anthony Anderson got the offense hot with 18 assists and two digs. Jon Guch, Charlie Flynn, Nick Fox, and Mikolaj Zielonka were kill leaders for the Bees.
The Bees proved to be too much for Central Christian to handle, earning a 3-0 decision. St. Ambrose started strong and did not let up the entire way, leading throughout the match. Dan Rice was the go to for the Bees earning 10 kills on 14 total attempts with a .571 kill percentage, a team high. Ryan Hudson picked up nine digs. Mariani and Brandon Edwards followed with three. From the service line, Charlie Flynn was unstoppable with six service aces, the last two to close out the game.
SAU will look to build from these wins when they travel to conference fellow Olivet Nazarene. The match is slated for 7 p.m. in Bourbonnais, Ill on Mar. 12.