DEERFIELD, Ill. - Battling from two sets behind, Trinity International came just two points shy of a five-set comeback, falling at home to the St. Ambrose Bees on Homecoming Friday night 25-23, 25-14, 21-25, 26-28, 15-13.

Box Score | Season Stats

Freshmen Ashlyn Spay and Piper Thompson eached finished the night with a double-double, as Spay collected 10 kills and 19 digs for the Trojans (9-21, 3-9 CCAC). The primary setter for the night, Thompson posted 39 assists and 11 digs.

Throughout the night, Trinity would nearly battle out of deficits set by slow starts. In the opening set trailing 21-14, the Trojans used a 9-2 run fueled in part by three kills from Spay, to tie the score at 23-23. St. Ambrose (9-16, 6-8 CCAC) responded with a kill to force set point, and a service ace to take the opener 25-23.

Trinity fell further behind with a second-set loss, in a game that saw the team hit for a .027 average, committing six errors in a 25-14 game. The Trojans rallied back in the third, and after trailing 17-12 outscored the Bees 13-4 to win the set and keep the match alive. Five different players posted kills during the rally, with Gabby Miller and Alida Knudtson hitting two kills apiece in the comeback.

The fourth set proved to be the closest of the night, with neither side taking more than a two-point advantage throughout the entire game. Back-to-back attacking errors from St. Ambrose set the Trojans up with set point at 24-22, before three straight kills would give the Bees match point at 25-24. Knudtson fended off the match point with a kill at 25-25, before closing off the final three points with another kill at 28-26 to force a fifth game.

Another tough start in the final set put the Trojans behind early, with four straight points going to the Bees to put the visitors ahead 4-2. The lead would stretch to 14-7, giving St. Ambrose match point again, before the Trojans would reel off six straight points to stay alive. Trailing 14-13 and on their ninth match point of the evening, St. Ambrose finally closed out the night with one final kill at 15-13.

Knudtson led the Trojans with 12 kills on the night, while Staal posted a .474 average with 11 kills and just two errors on 19 attempts. Defensively, Becca Kowalczuk collected 23 digs to lead the back line.

The Trojans' next match comes Tuesday, October 25, when they hit the road to face St. Xavier. First serve from the Shannon Center is set for 7:00 p.m.