After an extended break, St. Ambrose returned to the court and its winning ways by outlasting Indiana Northwest 25-12, 25-27, 25-23, 24-26, 15-9 Tuesday night in Lee Lohman Arena.

Each set saw the Bees, who hadn't taken the court since Oct. 17, build big leads early. But in the middle three sets, SAU let IUNW climb back into things.

The final set saw no late RedHawk rally.

Mackenzie Grafton started the decisive set with a pair of kills and St. Ambrose (12-14, 6-5 CCAC) would never trail from there. Nursing a 6-4 lead, Kennedy Hugunin put down a kill that started a 7-0 Bee run. Grafton and Hugunin each had two kills and Adriana Diaz delivered a pair of aces that helped open a 13-4 advantage. Trenyce Bonner had a kill to give SAU a 14-5 lead. IU Northwest (14-15, 6-6 CCAC) chipped away with four consecutive points before Grafton put up a big block to close out the win.

The Bees were equally as impressive in the first set as they were in the fifth.

Alexa Orozco put down two kills and Grace Beitzel had another as part of a five-point run that helped SAU open a 19-10 lead in the first. Orozco, Bonner and Grafton registered kills as the Bees claimed six of the final seven points. In all, St. Ambrose closed the set on an 11-2 run.

As a team, SAU hit .314 in the first set (15 kills, four errors) and .286 (10 kills, two errors) in the fifth. 

The Bees let the second set slip away after building a 17-12 lead. The RedHawks pulled even at 21-21 and eventually escaped with the set 27-25.

St. Ambrose nearly let a four-point lead in the third set evaporate. IU Northwest recovered from a 12-8 deficit to take a 20-17 lead. SAU trailed 22-19 before going on a five-point run behind a pair of Grafton kills. Leading 24-23, Beitzel put down a kill to give the Bees a 2-1 lead.

SAU appeared poised to close out the match in four after building leads of 7-2, 13-6, 17-10 and 20-12. The RedHawks did not give up, going on a 10-1 run to take a 22-21 advantage. They were able to hold on to force the fifth set before the Bees ultimately prevailed.

Grafton led all players with 20 kills. She also picked up 20 digs in helping St. Ambrose to its third straight victory. Beitzel finished with 16 kills and Orozco added 12. Bonner just missed double figures, finishing with nine kills, and Hugunin had six. Ella Gatz notched two kills.

Ines Marques was credited with a team-best 30 assists. Haley Doucet handed out 25. Kenia Diaz Vega recorded 33 digs. Orozco had 12 and Diaz added nine.

The Bees will visit Indiana South Bend Friday night.