St. Ambrose did what few other conference schools could do this fall - go toe-to-toe with regular-season champion Saint Xavier.

Unfortunately, the Bees' upset bid came up short as the Cougars earned a 22-25, 25-23, 25-12, 25-20 win in a quarterfinal match of the CCAC Tournament Tuesday night in Chicago.

SAU had SXU, which had finished 18-0 in CCAC play and had won 10 of its last 13 league matches in three sets, on the ropes early.

Three kills from Meredith Umland gave the Bees a 7-2 lead in the opening set. Saint Xavier (26-3) rallied to take a 20-17 lead before St. Ambrose battled back. Mackenzie Grafton and Jill Kavalauskas each had a kill to draw the teams even at 20-20. Kavalauskas came up big all night and made her presence felt at the end of the first set. With the Bees trailing 22-21, Kavalauskas had three kills as part of a set-clinching 4-0 run.

The senior outside hitter continued her run early in the second, putting down three kills to give SAU a 6-3 lead. The Bees led as late as 16-15 before the Cougars used a three-point run to take the lead for good. The teams traded points from there with Saint Xavier ultimately evening the match at one set apiece.

St. Ambrose led 7-5 early in the third before running out of steam. Down just 12-10 after a Grafton kill, the Bees would win just two of the final 15 points of the set. 

SAU stayed close in the fourth with an Umland kill knotting the score at 15-15. But SXU answered with a five-point spurt that proved to be the difference. A Rachael Dion kill closed the gap to 20-17, and despite three late kills from Kavalauskas, the Bees saw their season come to a close in four sets.

Kavalauskas had a huge night, finishing with a match-best 20 kills and just four errors. She also paced the Bees with 14 digs.

Grafton recorded 10 kills and nine digs. Umland finished with six kills and Dion and Payton Wendt each finished with five.

Amber Tomlin was credited with 40 assists to go along with three kills. Isabelle Todd registered six digs and Maicee Pierce picked up five. 

Saint Xavier will host a tournament semifinal match Thursday while St. Ambrose ended the season with a 19-12 record.