SAU earns first conference win of the season
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
St. Ambrose (IA) (5-6, 1-1) | 25 | 19 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
|
St. Francis (IL) (2-7, 1-2) | 22 | 25 | 21 | 22 | 1 |
It wasn't always pretty, but St. Ambrose picked up its first CCAC victory of the season by taking down St. Francis 25-22, 19-25, 25-21, 25-22 Wednesday night in Joliet, Ill.
The Bees hit just .093 for the match, but that was still better than the .062 mark turned in by the Saints.
SAU came out strong, hitting at a .276 clip, with 13 kills and just five hitting errors in the opening set. But the Bees still needed to rally. USF (2-7, 1-2 CCAC) built a four-point lead as late as 17-13. Two kills each from Olivia Johnson and Grace Beitzel and an ace from Adriana Diaz came as part of a 6-2 run that knotted the set at 19-19.
Minutes later, a kill from Marta Barriguinha and a block from Hannah Krouse and Sofia Pabon built a 23-20 lead. Another kill from Barriguinha and a block from Johnson and Pabon ultimately closed out the set.
St. Ambrose (5-6, 1-1 CCAC) struggled in both the second and third sets, finishing with a combined 22 kills and 21 errors over the two sets. SAU dropped the second and trailed 10-7 in the third before an eight-point spurt, highlighted by a pair of Alexa Orozco kills, gave the Bees a 15-10 lead. St. Ambrose was able to hold off a late St. Francis threat to take a two-sets-to-one lead.
Beitzel, the reigning CCAC Attacker of the Week, came through late to help the Bees close out the match. With the score tied at 22-22, Beitzel had back-to-back kills to give SAU a match point. Orozco closed things out with an ace to give St. Ambrose the win.
Beitzel and Barriguinha each finished with 12 kills while Orozco added 11. Johnson had seven kills and Krouse ended with five.
Ines Marques led all players with 42 assists and added a team-best 17 digs. Kennedy DeBaillie (16), Orozco (14) and Diaz (10) also reached double figures in digs. Larkin Calay picked up six digs.
DeBaillie, Orozco and Diaz had multiple aces while Johnson finished with a team-leading five total blocks.
SAU will host No. 12 Viterbo Thursday night.