For the first time in program history, St. Ambrose won a Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference women's volleyball title. The Bees made history by taking down Judson 23-25, 28-26, 25-22, 25-20 in the CCAC Tournament championship match Saturday night in Elgin, Ill.

SAU, which had already clinched a bid to the NAIA National Tournament following a semifinal win over Trinity Christian Thursday night, remained the hottest team in the conference by taking down the top-seeded Eagles for the second time this season.

The Bees, who extended their winning streak to seven matches, received 17 kills from Mackenzie Grafton and Meredith Umland and 14 more from Meredith Siebers.

Down a set, St. Ambrose was able to erase a Judson set point in the second and ultimately claimed the set thanks to two late kills from Siebers. Then in the third, the Bees were down 22-19 before rallying. A kill from Grafton was followed by an Eagle hitting error. Grafton and Alex Horne combined on a block that knotted the score at 22-22. SAU kept rolling. Another Grafton kill, an ace from Skyler Kuntzman and a Hannah Sondag kill capped a six-point run that gave the Bees a 2-1 lead.

Then in the fourth, down 19-18, St. Ambrose put together a championship rally. Kuntzman was credited with a kill to tie the score. Following a Judson setting error, Siebers had back-to-back kills to open up a 21-18 advantage. Umland made that lead hold up. She teamed with Grafton for a block, put down a kill, and then on match point, came up with a solo block to close out the victory.

St. Ambrose (19-14), the only conference team to beat Judson (23-4), has given the Eagles half of its four losses this season. SAU out-hit Judson, finishing with more kills (58-49) and a higher hitting percentage (.252-.197)

Behind the three Bees with double-digit kills, Sondag and Horne each put down four. Sondag also recorded 47 assists and 12 digs. Siebers had a team-leading 14 digs while Grafton, Lexi Huntley and Adriana Diaz each picked up 11.

St. Ambrose will now prepare for its second straight NAIA Championship appearance. This marks the first time SAU has qualified for back-to-back NAIA Tournaments since the 2009 and 2010 seasons.