TAMPA, Fla.- Once a big train gets moving it can be hard to stop. That appeared to be an appropriate analogy for Tuesday’s volleyball match between Palm Beach Atlantic and the University of Tampa as the No. 2-ranked Spartans showed why they are a perennial power in NCAA Division II volleyball. The heavy-hitting Spartans started hot and then held off each attempt at a PBA comeback moving forward as UT halted PBA’s 21-match winning streak as they swept the Sailfish for a 3-0 win at the Martinez Center.

The Sailfish (23-3) would give the Spartans (16-2) fits at times on Tuesday however the bigger block for UT allowed for a sizable mismatch on the front-line as Tampa collected 27 total blocks on the night while PBA was shutout in the blocks department.

Tampa also saw the advantage on the offensive end as they rode a .412 hitting percentage for the match to the tune of 25-17, 25-16 and 25-22 wins.

After the Spartans would lead just 7-5 early on in the first set, the home team would rattle off five straight points to move in front 12-5 before another run eventually left UT comfortably ahead 16-7. Leading 21-12, Tampa would hold off a PBA fight to close out the set 25-17.

Set two also saw Tampa feel some pressure from the Fish as the match settled at 18-16 with UT in front following a Rachel Jones kill. But the Spartans would not be denied as they closed out the set in dominating fashion by registering the final seven points of the set to earn a 25-16 win to move in front 2-0.

Set three witnessed PBA start to put together some impressive stretches. Trailing 14-10, PBA received three straight kills from freshman Faith Rohn and Jones to trim the UT lead to 14-13.

Things would get tighter still in set three as senior Mariela Quesada blasted home back-to-back kills to tie things at 19-19. After a Holly Reschke kill gave UT a 20-19 lead, back-to-back points from PBA including another Quesada kill and a Melissa Buckingham ace put PBA in front for the first time at 21-20.

The lead would be short-lived unfortunately as the big block from Tampa once again came out in full force as they blocked down three of the next four points to reach match point. An attack by Jackie Neff would seal the win for the Spartans as they pulled out the 25-22 set three win.

Quesada led the Sailfish with 13 kills on the night while Rohn and Jones followed nicely with nine and seven kills respectively. The Sailfish were held to a .112 hitting percentage for the match.

Becca Acevedo dished out 37 assists in the loss while Quesada and Rohn paced the defensive efforts with nine digs each.

Tampa presented a very balanced offensive attack as Reschke led all Spartan hitters with 10 kills followed by Danielle Selkridge with eight, Meagan Burke with seven and Jessica Yingling also with seven kills.

Kahley Patrick posted 33 assists while Jen Scholz finished with 10 digs. Burke and Yingling did much of the defensive work at the net with Burke posting an incredible 11 total blocks (nine assists, two solo) while Yingling chipped in five total blocks.

The Sailfish will look to start a new winning streak on Thursday as they will play host to Northwood (Fla.) University for a 7 pm showdown at the Rubin Arena. Thursday is PBA’s annual Pink Night to support breast cancer research. Fans are encouraged to wear pink while funds will be raised to support the Connie Vanderway Scholarship Fund.