St. Ambrose proved to be the better side in the 3-1 conference win over Trinity Christian yesterday evening in Lee Lohman Arena. SAU built large leads in the opening two sets 25-13 and 25-18 before they dropped the third set in extra points 24-26. The Bees rallied back in the fourth set with a 25-18 victory. This win moves St. Ambrose to 9-7 overall and 2-0 in conference play.

Straight away, SAU built a 5-1 lead over the Trolls backed by a kill from both Pedro Zang and Cael Anderson. The Trolls struggled to put the ball on the floor early on which allowed the Bees time to build a promising lead. St. Ambrose remained steady throughout the set and went on multiple three-point runs down the stretch. SAU even doubled up the opponents on several occassions, but a Michael Bos kill ended the set 25-13.

Charlie Flynn started the second set off with a kill from Felipe Prieto, and then Zang joined in on the action with another put down. But, the Trolls finally found their footing and challenged the Bees. TCC went on a five-point run which put the Bees in a deficit. St. Ambrose slowly crawled out of the deficit after a Kam Dixon kill and two service aces from Prieto. This built the Bees lead up to 13-10. Then, three different Bees put down three consecutive kills while Zang served a heater to earn himself an ace to force Trinity Christian into a timeout. St. Ambrose led by six scores, and scored again on another Zang kill just after the timeout to jump to a 20-13 lead. SAU finished out the set 25-18 and led the match 2-0.

St. Ambrose and Trinity Christian played each other close throughout the third set as the Bees dropped the set in extra points 24-26. Each side had an answer for each other in this set as neither side led more than four points throughout. 

The Bees found themselves trailing 19-23 and then went on a four-score run to tie the set. Zang came through for his side with two kills during that stretch, but it was not enough as the Trolls finished out the set with a victory.

SAU rallied off five straight scores to open what would be the final set. St. Ambrose never trailed the rest of the way as they led 10-3 at one point. The Trolls got as close as 16-19, but the Bees finished off the final points with a kill from Conner Rogalski and Flynn. Ethan Karban served for an ace to win the set 25-18. With this final set win, the Bees downed the Trolls 3-1.

Zang put down a team-high 15 kills, Bos downed 11 kills, and Dixon hit for nine kills. 

Prieto earned 15 assists while Anthony Anderson added in 14. Kainalu Ka'ahanui collected seven assists.

Flynn (2), Cael Anderson (1), and Dixon (1) all came away with solo blocks. 

Defensively Dixon and Karban each added in seven digs. 

The Bees look to push the win streak to three matches this weekend as they travel to University Park, Ill. to take on the Jaguars of Governors State. The first serve is slated for 2 p.m. CST.