WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.- Utilizing their full roster the Palm Beach Atlantic University volleyball team broke free from their recent losing streak as they took down St. Thomas University on Saturday afternoon at the Rubin Arena by a final tally of 3-1. Playing in front of a nice sized Family Weekend crowd, the Fish dominated from the onset on their way their fifth victory of the season.

The Sailfish (5-7) were led by a balanced hitting attack that combined for a .246 team hitting percentage while the PBA defense kept the Lady Bobcats from displaying a consistent offensive effort by limiting STU to a .056 overall hitting percentage.

Palm Beach Atlantic opened up play with a solid 25-14 game one victory before the Bobcats evened up the match at one game apiece with a 25-21 win of their own in game two. From there the Sailfish regular lineup would return and produce similar results as the first game with 25-13 and 25-14 wins to close out the match. PBA seemed to gain momentum as the match moved forward as they closed out game number four with a match-high .357 hitting percentage.

Leading the way was a balanced attack for the Fish as senior Jennifer Eldridge posted yet another double-double performance with 11 kills (.360 hitting percentage) and a match-high 23 digs. Junior Liz Fugate backed up a solid performance against Lynn University earlier in the week with another solid performance today against St. Thomas with 10 kills and zero hitting errors for an impressive .476 overall hitting percentage.

Sophomore Jessica Way posted another solid overall performance as she was given the duty of setting up a number of PBA attackers all afternoon and came away with 42 assists, four digs, four blocks, and three service aces. Libero Heather Shulke posted a solid defensive showing as well with 12 digs in the match.

With a sizable lead in three of the four sets, head coach Beth Avila was able to utilize her bench and allow some court time for some of PBA’s younger players. Freshmen Catie Carlton and Grace Cruz both tallied their first kills of the season while Betsy Bull also played well when called upon.

Leading STU was Slavica Stefanovic and Kaley Bueno who both tallied seven kills in the match. Angie Ardiles handled the libero duties and came away with 17 digs.   

PBA will have the next week off from game action as they won’t suit up again until Friday, October 2nd when the Sailfish host Palm Beach County rival Lynn University at 7 p.m.