DEERFIELD, Ill. - In their first match at home this season, Trinity International came up just short of securing the first win of the season, falling to the St. Ambrose Bees in five sets Tuesday night inside Van Dixhorn Arena, 25-16, 13-25, 23-25, 25-25, 15-5. The Trojans held a 2-1 lead in the match before a tight 25-23 fourth set went in the favor of the vistors, who closed out the match in the fifth.

Box Score | Season Stats

Marissa Boelter and Suzanne Knudtson recorded Trinity's first two double-doubles of the season, as Boelter finished with 11 kills and 18 digs, while Knudtson collected 11 digs to go along with her 40 assists. Sophomore Lexie Voss led the attack with a career-high 18 kills and a .250 hitting percentage. Becca Kowalczuk led the back line, finishing with a team-high 19 digs.

The Trojans (0-3, 0-3 CCAC) fell behind early in the opening set, allowing St. Ambrose (3-9, 1-3 CCAC) to take eight of the first nine points. Trinity was never able to recover from the slow start, but turned things around in game two. TIU took their first lead of the night at 6-5, off a service ace from Knudtson, then used a seven-point run to build a 13-7 advantage, highlighted by back-to-back aces from Mickayla Staal. The team hit for a .381 average in the second set, coasting to a 25-13 win.

St. Ambrose responded in the third set, leading after three straight points made it a 15-12 advantage. TIU came back with six straight to hold a three-point edge of their own, but the Bees tied the score at 21-21 following a kill and Trojan attack error. A kill followed by a solo block from Voss put TIU ahead 23-21, then another kill from Staal set up game point. Voss finished off the third after St. Ambrose made it close with a pair of scores before going down 25-23.

Neither side were able to take more than a three-point lead in game four, but the Trojans looked poised to close out the match with a late 21-18 advantage. Three straight kills quickly tied the game, followed by a block and an ace from the Bees gave SAU a 23-21 edge. Two service errors bumped the Trojans up to 23 points in the set, but an error from the Trinity service line ultimately ended the game at 25-23 to force a fifth set.

St. Ambrose jumped out in front of the deciding game, taking five of the first six points. The Trojans would use a Voss kill and an SAU attack error to close the gap to 6-3, but the Bees ran off five straight to build a comfortable margin at 11-3 en route to the fifth set win.

The Trojans will continue their current three-match homestand on Thursday, when they host St. Xavier. Tipoff from Van Dixhorn Arena is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.