Devan Porter collected half of SAU's 36 total kills in a losing effort Tuesday night. The Bees fell to conference power Saint Xavier 27-25, 25-14, 25-23 to fall to 7-14 overall and 3-7 in the CCAC.

Porter finished with 18 kills and just four hitting errors. The rest of the team totaled 18 kills and 12 errors.

With five Bees each producing at least two kills in the opening set, St. Ambrose led 23-20 late after an Abby Happ kill. But Saint Xavier (16-7, 9-1 CCAC) responded with four straight points to take the lead. One point later, Riley Hummert's kill gave SAU a set point at 25-24, but three straight Bee miscues handed the set to SXU.

A 10-2 run midway through the second set propelled the Cougars to a 19-10 lead on their way to grabbing a two-set advantage.

A back-and-forth third set saw the Bees take a 22-21 lead on Porter's final kill of the night. The set was tied at 23-23 after a Jenny Koerner kill, but that proved to be the final point for St. Ambrose. Saint Xavier won the final two points to close out the win.

Happ, Morgan Twing, Breanne Cunningham and Jessica Hemm were second to Porter with three kills apiece. Hummert and London Williams each contributed a pair of kills.

Twing was also credited with 15 assists and nine digs in the losing effort. Sydni Coultrip had 11 assists. Emma Marshall shared match-high honors with 13 digs.

SAU returns to action Thursday night with a 7 p.m. match at Cardinal Stritch.