With everything they've worked for all season on the line, the Fighting Bees came through Thursday night.

St. Ambrose (24-8) earned a spot in the CCAC Tournament championship match and clinched an automatic bid to the NAIA National Championship Opening Round by defeating Judson 3-1 in a conference tournament semifinal at Lee Lohman Arena.

The victory sets up a tournament championship match at Saint Xavier Saturday at 1 p.m.

But more importantly, the Bees are guaranteed their first nationals appearance since 2010.

It all came in a convincing 25-20, 16-25, 25-22, 25-16 victory over Judson.

After splitting the first two sets, the Bees and Eagles were tied at 21-21 late in the third. A big block from Payton Wendt and Mackenzie Grafton broke the tie and sparked a 4-1 run that gave SAU a 2-1 lead.

Judson (18-18) won the first two points of the fourth set before St. Ambrose took control. Seven straight points, featuring two kills and an ace from Jill Kavalauskas and a block and a kill from Meredith Siebers, put the Bees in front 7-2.

A five-point run later in the set extended the lead to 15-8, and minutes later, Alexandria Horne closed out the win with her eighth kill of the night.

Kavalauskas led SAU with 14 kills. Meredith Umland had 10 and Siebers finished with nine.

Hannah Sondag led the team with 24 assists. Macy Watkins recorded 18. Maicee Pierce picked up 12 digs. Watkins and Siebers each had eight. Kavalauskas (four) and Lexi Huntley (two) had multiple aces in the win.

Now the Bees' extended postseason run will continue at Saint Xavier, a team that has beaten St. Ambrose twice this season, most recently in five sets in Davenport on Nov. 1. Saint Xavier, which had already secured one of the conference's two automatic Nationals berths by virtue of winning the CCAC regular-season title, will enter the tournament championship match with a 22-8 record.

Win or lose Saturday in Chicago, the Bees will learn their NAIA Championship Opening Round opponent during the NAIA National Championship selection show Monday at 10 a.m.

The Opening Rounds will be played on Campus Sites on Nov. 19. The Championships will continue Nov. 30-Dec. 6 at the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa.