Fighting for a spot in the upcoming eight-team CCAC Tournament, St. Ambrose picked up an important 25-19, 25-17, 25-14 win at Judson Thursday night.

The Bees got better as the match progressed in improving to 10-16 overall and 5-9 in conference play. 

SAU had just seven kills against seven hitting errors in the first set. That improved to 13 kills and eight errors (.125 hitting percentage) in the second and jumped to 12 kills and a single hitting error (.367 percentage) in the final set.

Four of the 16 Bee hitting errors came within the first eight points of the match as Judson (6-12, 4-10 CCAC) raced to a fast 6-2 lead. But it was all St. Ambrose from there.

Back-to-back kills from Olivia Johnson and Sofia Pabon started a run of four straight points that ultimately developed into an 11-3 run that put SAU in front 13-9. The Eagles never got closer than three points the rest of the set.

The final two sets contained less drama.

Behind kills from Pabon, Marta Barriguinha, Larkin Calay and Ines Marques, the Bees got off to a quick 7-3 lead in the second set. Judson fought back to draw even at 17-17 but kills from Emily Hickerson and Calay sparked a set-clinching run of eight straight points. Grace Beitzel had a pair of kills and Jamie Neumiller added an ace late to close out the set.

Three four-point runs and a five-point spurt carried the Bees through the third set. Beitzel and Johnson had kills to help St. Ambrose to a 4-0 lead. Beitzel put down two kills while Hickerson and Calay each recorded one that turned an 8-7 deficit into a 12-8 advantage. Leading 14-11, Marques had a kill and Johnson a solo block as part of a 4-0 run that pushed the margin to 18-11. Kennedy DeBaillie's ace came during the final four-point spurt that wrapped up the victory.

Beitzel led the team with 10 kills and six other Bees added multiple kills. Johnson and Barriguinha each had five, Calay finished with four, Pabon and Hickerson added three apiece, and Marques had two in the win.

Marques was also credited with 26 assists. DeBaillie picked up a team-leading 13 digs. Barriguinha and Olivia Hoskins had seven digs apiece and Alexa Orozco recorded six.

St. Ambrose will play a pair of home matches Saturday as the Bees take on Saint Xavier at 1 p.m. and then Columbia at approximately 5:30 p.m.