GARY, Ind. — Indiana University Northwest volleyball came up short Thursday night, falling 3-0 (25-23, 26-24, 25-14) to visiting Saint Ambrose inside the Savannah Center. Despite strong play early and back-to-back close sets, the RedHawks were unable to overcome the Bees' late surges in each frame.

Saint Ambrose (9-13, 4-6 CCAC) opened the match with a hot start, but IU Northwest matched point-for-point through the first set. The RedHawks took a 6-5 lead after a service ace from Raniyah Preston and a kill from Kaelan Murphy. A block from Baileigh Uporsky and Gabi Lilovich tied it again at 20-all before the Bees closed with two clutch kills to edge the set, 25-23.

The second set featured another strong RedHawks start as Eva Everett delivered an ace and Preston added a kill to build a 6-3 lead. IU Northwest held an 18-17 advantage after Krueger and Lilovich teamed up for consecutive points, but Saint Ambrose responded late, taking the frame 26-24 behind the play of Grace Beitzel, who finished with 17 kills on the night.

The Bees carried their momentum into the third, racing to a 9-0 lead behind Ines Marques' serving run. IU Northwest regrouped with kills from Preston and Murphy to pull within 15-10, but Saint Ambrose closed the match 25-14.

Lilovich, Preston, and Murphy each tallied six kills to lead IU Northwest, while Lintner added four kills and three blocks. Everett anchored the defense with 14 digs and two service aces, and Preston dished out 14 assists.

The RedHawks (9-16, 5-5 CCAC) return home on Saturday, Oct. 11, to host Judson University at 1 p.m. inside the Savannah Center to close out Student-Athlete Mental Health Awareness Week.