Just 48 hours after a draining five-set conference loss to Cardinal Stritch, St. Ambrose struggled in a 25-16, 25-12, 25-18 loss to No. 12 Dordt Saturday night inside Lee Lohman arena.

Dordt (7-2) took early leads in the first two sets - 7-0 in the opener and 8-1 in the second.

The third was more competitive early, with the Bees trailing just 9-6 after a Riley Hummert kill. But the Defenders followed with a four-point run before ultimately building a 20-10 lead on their way to the 3-0 victory.

Hummert led SAU with six kills while Abby Happ and Madisyn Johnson each put down five. London Williams and Rachel Dion recorded three kills apiece. As a team, St. Ambrose totaled 26 kills against 22 hitting errors. Dordt had 35 kills and just 10 hitting errors.

Amber Tomlin had a team-best 14 assists. Sydni Coultrip picked up six assists. Jenna Laxton led SAU with 12 digs.

The Bees will host Clarke Monday at 7 p.m. before returning to CCAC play Tuesday with a 7 p.m. match at Judson.