ROCK ISLAND, Ill.—After playing its first 10 matches away from home, Coach Mike Ducey's Augustana volleyball team finally got to make its 2020 home debut Saturday versus St. Ambrose. The Vikings fell in four sets to the Bees, dropping to 7-4 on the season. SAU improved to 4-3 on the year.
 
Sophomore Luis Zavala (Lincoln-Way East HS, Frankfort, Ill.) had a pair of kills as Augustana claimed the first three points of the afternoon. St. Ambrose came back to tie it at 6-6 on a Zach Schmidt kill before junior Dillan Baum (Warrensburg Latham HS, Decatur, Ill.) answered with one that gave the Vikings their final lead. The Bees captured the next three points and led the rest of the way. An Avery Clark block gave the visitors set point in a 25-17 win.
 
Game two was nip-and-tuck the entire way. Neither team led by more than two points until late. Augustana held the advantage for much of the set and led 19-17 after a Baum service ace. However, a Scott MacGillis kill sparked a 4-0 SAU run that gave the Bees an edge at 21-19 that they would hang onto the rest of the way. The Vikings twice got within a point, but could never pull even. A kill by Clark finished off a 25-22 St. Ambrose win.
 
Ducey's bunch rallied from an 18-13 deficit to take the third set 25-22. The Bees took four straight points to go up 10-6 on a MacGillis kill and eventually extended the advantage to 18-13 following an Augustana service error. A kill by junior Jason Szara (Lincoln-Way East HS, Frankfort, Ill.) ignited the Vikings' comeback and a Baum ace finished off a 3-0 run that pulled the hosts even at 20-all. A Jason Bageanis kill gave St. Ambrose one final lead (21-20) before a pair of Justin Murphy (Glenbard East HS, Lombard, Ill.) kills bookended a 4-0 Augustana run. The Bees fought off one set point before sophomore Sanchit Khaitan (Glenbard North HS, Bloomingdale, Ill.) set classmate John Cunningham (Hononegah HS, Roscoe, Ill.) for a closing kill.
 
Clark and Jake Snyder had kills as St. Ambrose won five straight points to go up 9-3 in game four. The Vikings battled back to tie it at 12-all on a Zavala kill and take their first lead (13-12) on a Bee error. After SAU retook the lead, eventually stretching it to 19-15, Augustana answered with four straight points to tie. However, a Viking error put St. Ambrose back on top, where it stayed. Bageanis and McGillis teamed up on a block for match point, as the Bees prevailed 25-21.
 
Szara had a match-high 10 kills for Augustana and Zavala and Murphy added nine each. Khaitan and Ryan Hirschel (Libertyville HS, Libertyville, Ill.) split setting duties with respective totals of 21 and 19 assists. They also topped the Vikings in digs with eight and nine, respectively. Baum had two aces and Murphy a team-high three blocks.
 
MacGillis and Bageanis also shared match-high honors with 10 kills apiece. Snyder delivered 37 assists and six blocks and Ricardo Ubior a dozen digs.
 
Augustana is back at Carver Center on Friday, February 14, taking on 11th-ranked Milwaukee School of Education at 7:00 p.m.