The Palm Beach Atlantic volleyball team played its home finale on Saturday against No. 4-ranked Tampa.
The Sailfish played the Spartans for the second time in five days, having traveled to the Spartans in Tuesday’s loss. PBA (12-16, 6-12 SSC) looked for revenge in front of a Homecoming crowd, but the defending national champs proved too much for the ‘Fish. Tampa (24-3, 14-3 SSC) took the match, 3-0.
Kayla Matthews led the Sailfish attack with 11 kills and four digs. Abbie Zylstra added 10 kills and four digs of her own. Jayden Otto racked up 30 assists with five digs and two blocks. Jayna Bredenberg recorded a team-high six digs as libero.
The Sailfish started slowly in the first set, allowing the Spartans to lead 16-4. PBA’s squad crawled its way back into the set. A 12-1 run, including kills by Matthews, Angeleyshka Curbelo, and Anna Gregerson, an ace each from Otto and Matthews, and five errors from the Spartans made it 17-15. A 5-1 run later in the set from the ‘Fish tied the set at 23. PBA looked to steal the opener, but Tampa held on to win, 26-24.
The second set started similarly to the first, but the Sailfish failed to repeat their comeback. Tampa held PBA to a .094 hitting percentage in the second, leading to a 25-16 win for the Spartans.
PBA started better in the third set, hanging with Tampa until the 16-13 mark. The Spartans pulled away with a 6-0 run, including three attack errors for the ‘Fish to make it 23-13. PBA answered with a 5-1 run with kills from Mary Morgan Formby, Zylstra, and Matthews, but Tampa sealed the match with a 25-19 win.
Tampa outhit PBA, .294 – .160 in the match. PBA totaled 20 unforced errors in the match.