Needing a win and some luck to make the upcoming CCAC Tournament, St. Ambrose got neither one Thursday night. The Bees fell to Governors State 25-20, 25-22, 21-25, 25-21 to close the 2025 campaign.

The loss didn't alter SAU's postseason plans as Indiana Northwest defeated Calumet to clinch the final spot in the conference tournament anyway.

The Bees couldn't hold on to early leads in the first and second sets on Senior Night.

St. Ambrose (13-18, 7-11 CCAC) held a 17-15 lead in the opener before a 5-0 Governors State run flipped the set. The Bees clawed to within 20-19 before the Jaguars won five of the final six points.

It was a similar story in the second as SAU built a 12-10 lead only to see another five-point run change momentum. Grace Beitzel and Marta Barriguinha each had a kill as part of a 3-0 run that cut the deficit to 20-19 late. An Emily Hickerson kill kept the Bees within a point at 23-22 before the Jaguars won the next two points to claim the set.

SAU finally held on in the third. Kills from Beitzel and Sofia Pabon helped the Bees to a fast 5-0 start. After Governors State (11-21, 9-8) got to within 11-10, kills from Hickerson and Beitzel and a block from Hannah Krouse and Olivia Johnson came as part of a 5-1 run that extended the lead to 16-11. The Bees maintained at least a three-point advantage the rest of the way.

St. Ambrose led as late as 12-11 in the fourth before GSU went on a six-point spurt to grab a 17-12 lead. SAU got no closer than three points from there.

Playing in her final match, Beitzel, the lone senior on the varsity squad, led the team with 15 kills. 

Barriguinha and Pabon each put down eight kills and Hickerson had seven. Chloe Fabry added four kills in the loss.

Ines Marques shared match-high honors with 36 assists. She also picked up six digs.

Kennedy DeBaillie (14), Alexa Orozco (11) and Larkin Calay (10) each had double-digit digs. Barriguinha matched Marques with six digs of her own.

Krouse led all players with six total blocks. Olivia Johnson came up with three blocks and Beitzel and Pabon had two apiece.

Orozco (two), Calay, DeBaillie and Jamie Neumiller each had aces.