With postseason conference tournament seeding on the line, St. Ambrose came through with a big 17-25, 25-17, 25-21, 25-16 win at Judson to close the regular season Thursday night.

The two teams entered the night with identical 11-6 conference records, and the victory propelled the Bees to the No. 5 seed in the upcoming CCAC Tournament. SAU will play a quarterfinal at Indiana South Bend next Tuesday night.

It was another efficient night for the Bees.

St. Ambrose (17-8, 12-6 CCAC) had a .290 hitting percentage, finishing with 46 kills and just 17 errors.

Jill Kavalauskas, the reigning NAIA Attacker of the Week, again led the way. She totaled 14 kills against just one hitting error in 26 chances.

Meredith Siebers collected a double-double of 11 kills and 10 digs. Payton Wendt had eight kills and a single hitting error for a .438 hitting percentage. Rachael Dion added seven kills.

Five of the Bees' 15 hitting errors came in the opening set and Judson (16-11, 11-7 CCAC) capitalized. The Eagles used a 15-4 run to take control.

With the second set tied at 14-14, St. Ambrose received consecutive kills from Kavalauskas, Siebers and Wendt as part of a six-point run to take a 20-14 lead. SAU carried that lead throughout the rest of the set.

The Bees had to overcome an early three-point deficit at 12-9 in the third. Nursing an 18-17 lead, kills from Wendt and Kavalauskas gave SAU a three-point lead. A Judson hitting error was followed by a kill from Dion. Amber Tomlin finished the 5-0 run with an ace to extend the lead to 23-17, and the team closed out the set a handful of points later.

St. Ambrose was nearly perfect in the final set. Behind five kills from Kavalauskas and two apiece from Siebers, Wendt and Dion, the Bees recorded 13 kills in the set without a single hitting error. Judson was within 12-10 before SAU won 13 of the final 19 points to close out the victory. Tomlin and Jessica Hemm also had kills in the final set.

Tomlin led all players with 34 assists while also adding eight digs. Kavalauskas and Maicee Pierce each picked up nine digs and Alexis Hayes was credited with six.

Tomlin, Siebers and Isabelle Todd each had two of the Bees' eight aces.

Now the Bees will prepare for the postseason. Tuesday's quarterfinal match at IU South Bend is scheduled for 7 p.m. The conference semifinals will be played next Thursday with the championship match slated for next Saturday.