The Saints evened their Midwest Collegiate Conference record at 2-2 while the Queen Bees expanded their league lead to a full game ahead of Viterbo University (2-0 MCC) at 4-0.
"I thought we had a great second set because we came out passing and executing well," AU Head Coach Micah Cewe said. "The girls came out with a lot of fire, but we let the first set slip away from us. This was a huge match for us."
Ashford had plenty of support from the fans last night, drawing help from the Saints' men's basketball players between timeouts and sets. In a "Serve For Soda" promotion, kids and students tried to serve the ball over the net to knock over a 20 oz. bottle of soda inside a hula hoop.
Ashford clung to a 19-13 lead in the first set before SAU chipped away at the deficit, using a 7-2 run to claw back and even the score at 21. The Queen Bees closed with another 4-0 run to advance to the second set.
The Saints rallied to claim the second set, erasing a six-point SAU lead early on. AU took the lead for good on a kill by Hanna Bruns of La Porte City that made the score 17-16.
Ashford outdug St. Ambrose 59-51, behind sophomore setter Whitney Miller's 15. Reigning MCC Libero of the Week Tara Van Zuiden of Albany, Ill., added 11.
MCC Player of the Week Allison Uceda of Lima, Peru, and Hitter of the Week Kelsay McCausland of Camanche each recorded 11 kills.
Erroneous serves plagued the Saints as Ashford totaled 13 service errors.
The Queen Bees had plenty of balance on the offensive side of the ball, getting 48 kills despite not having a player with 10 or more. Tori Matzen and Amy Royer each had nine, while Kait Gallagher, Catherine Wildner and Molly Byrnes contributed seven apiece.
SAU setter Lauren Aderman had a game-high 10 assists.
Ashford hosts its second annual Saints Invitational Tournament on Friday and Saturday, welcoming seven other schools in crosspool play Oct. 2-3 in Kehl Arena. A complete listing of tournament matches can be found at http://www.ashfordathletics.com/f/Saints_Invitational_Tournament.php.
