St. Ambrose stayed in the hunt for a conference tournament bid with an important win over Judson Tuesday night inside Lee Lohman Arena.

The 25-20, 25-27, 25-19, 25-17 win moved the Bees to 8-17 overall and 4-8 in the CCAC, just a half-game behind Judson in the conference's North Division.

Devan Porter led SAU with 17 kills and 13 digs. Riley Hummert collected 13 kills and a team-leading 19 digs. Rachel Dion finished with nine kills, Abby Happ had eight and Jessica Hemm and London Williams each finished with five.

With the match tied at a set apiece, the Bees trailed 16-15 in the third. But Dion and Hummert combined for five straight kills and Porter followed with an ace for a six-point run that put St. Ambrose in front 21-16. Dion and Hemm had kills late to close out the third.

Then in the fourth, SAU built a 17-6 lead before watching Judson roll off eight straight points to close to within 17-14. A Hummert kill stopped the run and leading 18-15, the Bees went on a decisive 6-0 run. Morgan Twing had two kills; Happ, Porter and Hemm each had one kill; and Allie Brent had an ace that extended the lead to 24-15. Porter's final kill of the night wrapped up the victory.

Twing led all players with 30 assists. Amber Tomlin was credited with 22 assists and 10 digs. Grace McGrath picked up 14 digs.

St. Ambrose will take a break from conference play by visiting Lincoln College Thursday night before the Bees play their final regular season home match of the season next Tuesday against Trinity International.