With a chance to secure second place in the conference and the right to host a CCAC Tournament semifinal, St. Ambrose let it slip away.

A tight 25-23, 26-24, 27-29, 26-24 loss at Olivet Nazarene Tuesday night dropped the Bees out of the driver's seat. At 7-5 in the conference, SAU (14-15 overall) dropped to a third-place tie with Judson (13-12, 7-5 CCAC). Olivet Nazarene (13-12, 7-4 CCAC) moved into sole possession of second place and can lock up a runner-up finish with a win at Trinity Christian Thursday.

The Bees just couldn't come up with the big plays when they needed them against the Tigers.

In the opening set, after a Pedro Zang kill tied the score at 22-22, ONU won three of the next four points.

In the second, a kill from Kam Dixon knotted the set at 23-23, and two points later, a Zang kill evened the score at 24-24. But the Tigers answered with the next two points to claim the set.

The third set was a different story.

Trailing 24-21, an Olivet Nazarene serving error and hitting error erased two match points. Cael Anderson and Charlie Flynn combined for a block to draw the teams even at 24-24. Points later, an Anderson kill fought off a fourth Tiger match point and squared the set at 26-26. With the score tied at 27-27, Dixon put down two straight kills to extend the match.

But despite building an early four-point lead in the fourth, SAU was unable to hang on. Similar to the opening set, a Zang kill tied things at 23-23. And then the Tigers ran off a 3-1 run to close out the match.

Dixon led the Bees with 15 kills. He also picked up eight digs. Zang also had double-digit kills, finishing with 10. He added six digs.

Flynn and Anderson put down eight kills apiece while Michael Bos added seven.

Anthony Anderson was credited with team highs of 44 assists and nine digs. Ethan Karban registered eight digs and Kainalu Ka'ahanui added seven.

Flynn was in on five total blocks while Anthony Anderson was involved in four.

If Olivet Nazarene defeats Trinity Christian to secure the No. 2 seed, St. Ambrose would host a CCAC Tournament first-round match next Tuesday.