CHARLOTTE, N.C.- It wouldn’t start well for the Palm Beach Atlantic University volleyball team in their opening match of the 2011 season but it sure would end well. After falling behind 20-10 in the season’s first set to the likes of Assumption University at the Johnson C. Smith University Tournament ,  the Sailfish would rally for a 27-25 set win on to a 3-0 victory. They would follow their first victory with another by taking down Fayetteville State University by a 3-0 count in the nightcap.

PBA 3, Assumption 0

Senior Lanae Robinson led the PBA efforts in the opening match victory over AU as the Cave Creek, Arizona product tallied a match-high 10 kills in only 17 attacks for a strong .529 hitting percentage.

Although the Fish would start slow with a .276 team attacking percentage in the opening set during their 27-25 win, they would follow that performance up with two better showings of .400 in set two (25-11) and .450 (25-14) in set three.

While Robinson patrolled the middle, she was flanked on both sides by solid performances from newcomer Lisa Jedlicka (nine kills, .400 attacking percentage) and senior Janeen McCormick (six kills, .417 attacking percentage).

Becca Acevedo, a freshman from Miami, Florida, made her official collegiate debut on Friday as she posted 27 assists while adding in four aces and a pair of digs and kills. Also making her debut and in the starting lineup was Melissa McPeek who roamed the court as the team’s starting libero as she posted seven digs to lead the defensive efforts.

Sophomore Lexie Grizzle added in six digs while McCormick and Christina Alessi did damage on the block with four and three blocks assists respectively. Robinson led all players with six service aces in the match.

PBA 3, Fayetteville State University 0

After struggling out of the gate in their first set against Assumption the Sailfish (2-0) would waste no time in their second match of the day as they throttled FSU in the first two sets by the scores of 25-16 and 25-11. Set number two witnessed the Fish not produce a hitting error while managing 14 kills as a team. PBA closed things out with a much closer set in the third as it finished 25-22 in favor of the Fish.

Jedlicka took command early and often in the win over FSU as she led all players with 15 kills while posting a solid if not spectacular .429 attacking percentage in the three sets.

Backing Jedlicka’s solid performance was freshman Anna Hays who displayed some strong skills at the net as she tallied nine kills in 17 total attacks for a .353 attacking percentage. Alessi added in some powerful hits with her left arm as well with eight kills in only 13 attempts for a team-best .462 attacking percentage in the second match of the day.

Acevedo found many hitters in the match to post 37 assists while chipping in two block assists. McPeek was the only player on the Fish to reach double-digits in digs with 11 on the night.

Head coach Bob White and his staff were able to see court time for a total of 13 players including seven freshmen. Brytney Annis, Shenise Howard, and Kelsey Fox each contributed their first kills of their collegiate careers.

The Fish will be back in action on Saturday as they will take on the host JCSU Golden Bulls at 11 am then take to the court again at approximately 3 pm for a match against Johnson and Wales University (N.C.). Should the team continue to do well they would claim a spot in the tournament championship match to be played at 7 pm.