WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.- If you haven’t had the chance to see the Lady Sailfish volleyball team in person this season, you may want to make plans for Saturday afternoon. The Palm Beach Atlantic University volleyball team continued their torrid pace to start the 2010 season on Tuesday evening as they hosted Florida Tech at the Rubin Arena. Seemingly gaining momentum as the match went along, the Sailfish completed the three game sweep by the scores of 25-20, 25-20, and 25-14.

Sophomore Mariela Quesada formerly introduced herself to the Panthers with a big start to the match on her way to a game-high of 13 kills and a team-high 19 digs. With each big Quesada slam the Fish appeared to gain confidence as the team improved to 11-0 while defeating Florida Tech for the first time since 2006. Ironically, the last time the Fish took down the Panthers featured Bob White in his last season on the bench before stepping down to handle the Athletic Director’s role full-time. That 2006 squad also featured current Sailfish coaches Whitney Warren, Brittany Erickson, and Emily Ryerson all contributing as standout players.

After jumping out to a quick game one victory, the Fish fell behind early in set number two as the Panthers made some key adjustments and forced White to call an early timeout down 1-5. After trading points over the next few possessions, the Fish finally caught fire with five straight points including two kills from Quesada and a pair of aces from senior Jennifer Eldridge.

After another set of runs by both teams, the Fish put the match in their favor for good with five more straight points to go ahead 18-16. PBA would close the set victory with a 9-2 run to go ahead 2-0 in the match.

Game three belonged to PBA from the onset as they quickly fed off the home Rubin Arena crowd to go up 11-3 early and then cruise to their 25-14 win.

Joining Quesada atop the leaderboard for kills on the night were juniors Janeen McCormick and Lanae Robinson who both put down eight kills. Robinson, a middle-blocker from Cave Creek, Arizona, came through with perhaps her best effort of the season as her eight kills came on only 14 attacks while producing only one hitting error and a .500 hitting percentage.

Back after resting a tender back over the weekend, junior setter Jessica Way led the troops all night long with another solid performance including 37 assists, eight digs, and three block assists. Robinson would tally five total blocks (two solo, three assists) and McCormick chipped in with four block assists.

Tying for the team lead with Quesada in digs with 19 was junior Allie Warren who helped keep a number of broken plays alive in the match with her dives and extra effort plays.

Overall, the Fish posted a .266 team hitting percentage while limiting FIT to only a .100 hitting percentage. The Panthers started strong with a .158 hitting percentage only to fall short in their final two sets at .085 and .040 respectively.

Florida Tech middle-blocker Caitlyn Ballweber, who entered the match with team-high honors in kills on the season, was held quiet for much of the night as she was limited to only four kills and a .048 hitting percentage. The Panthers were led on the night by Frankie Brown who produced nine kills and a .240 hitting percentage while just missing a double-double with nine digs.

Libero specialist Ashley Bryant withstood a number of tough kill attempts by the Sailfish hitters and garnered match-high honors of 21 digs. Alexis Mastela, who did not start the match, led FIT with 23 assists in defeat.

PBA will now turn their focus to another top-notch NCAA South Region opponent in Lynn University who will come to town on Saturday, September 25th for a 4 p.m. matchup. Those fans that cannot attend the match in person may watch live with video coverage provided by the Sailfish Sports Network.