ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla.- The Sailfish set streak may have ended on Friday evening at the Flagler Gym but their match streak is alive and well as the Blue and White shook off a 2-1 deficit in the contest for a second come-from-behind win over the Saints this season. The 3-2 PBA win pushes their win streak to 12 matches while Flagler drops to 6-6 on the season.

The Saints were left with a familiar feeling of letting a possible victory slip through their grasps as the Sailfish accomplished a similar comeback victory over Flagler at the USC-Aiken Invitational a few weeks ago. In that match, Flagler led 2-0 before PBA’s big comeback began what is now a 12-match win streak.

In a bizarre twist of fate, none of the first four sets on Friday proved to be close as the two teams alternated victories with FC pulling out 25-16 and 25-18 wins in the first and third sets while PBA managed 25-15 and 25-16 wins in the second and fourth sets. The Fish came through in the biggest of them all however with a 15-12 win in set five as they escaped St. Augustine with a sparkling 14-2 record.

Still receiving votes in this week’s American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) National Coaches Poll, the Saints came out of the gate firing on all cylinders as they pounded away a .435 hitting percentage in the opening set to jump in front.

In what was a sign of things to come however, the Fish would have an answer as they brushed off their disappointing opening set showing by producing a match-high .292 hitting percentage of their own in their second set win.

Back came the Saints however in set three as their serve improved and forced the PBA offense into some uncomfortable hitting situations. A .321 hitting percentage by FC in the third set led them to another win and a 2-1 advantage heading into the final stretch.

After barely staying above the zero attack percentage mark (.023) in the fourth set, the Saints simply wouldn’t have enough in set five to keep the Fish out of the win column as PBA managed nine kills to just three errors in the finale of the night.

Trailing 6-4 early on in the fifth set, the Fish rattled off four consecutive points to take a 8-6 lead as two Mariela Quesada kills were sandwiched by two Saints attack errors. From there the Saints would never draw closer than two points.

PBA received a very balanced hitting night from their top performers with Quesada, Christina Alessi and freshman Faith Rohn each topping double-figures in kills for the match.

Quesada led all PBA players with 17 kills while Alessi (.405 attacking percentage) and Rohn (.200 attacking percentage) gave the team a huge lift with 16 and 13 kills respectively. Alessi blasted her team’s final two points in the fifth set as they escaped with the win.

Sophomore setter Becca Acevedo dished out 47 assists in the victory while sophomore libero Melissa Buckingham made dig-after-dig to lead all players with 19 digs. Freshman defensive specialist Rachael Holehouse was also superb on defense with a career-high 16 digs while Quesada closed out the match with another double-double after tallying 11 digs.

Adding to the offensive production for PBA was freshman Rachel Jones who contributed seven kills on just 18 attacks while Acevedo joined the party with five kills in addition to her setting duties.

Flagler was paced by Emilee Taylor who led all hitters on the night with 19 kills while adding in seven digs. Amelia Morgan had 41 assists in the loss while libero Casey Gnann had 18 digs.

The Fish will have the remainder of the weekend off before beginning a long home stand of matches slated for action at the Rubin Arena. The team will host six of their next seven regular season matches at home while mixing in the hosting of their second tournament of the season in the annual Pepsi Bash at the Beach Tournament on October 5-6.

PBA will welcome in NCAA South Region opponent, Eckerd College on Wednesday, September 26th for a 7 pm showdown followed by a Thursday showdown with Southeastern (Fla.) University.