LAKELAND, Fla.- Taking on Florida Southern College for the first time since the 2008 season the Sailfish volleyball team came away with a key South Region win on Tuesday evening as they knocked off the Mocs by a 3-1 final tally. Senior Christina Alessi led a determined PBA attack with a season-high 17 kills while the Blue and White defense limited the Mocs to just a .080 team hitting percentage.

The victory pushes the Sailfish mid-season record to 12-3 and sets the stage for a busy weekend of volleyball as PBA will host the annual Pepsi Bash at the Beach Tournament in the Rubin Arena.

Playing in just her fourth match since returning from injury the big plays of Alessi proved that the 6’2” right-side hitter is nearing the All-American form she showed last season before being sidelined.

After a back-and-forth first set saw the Sailfish hang on for a 25-22 win thanks to kills on their final three points from sophomore Faith Rohn, the tables appeared to turn back towards the Mocs for set two.

Leading 23-18 it looked as if Florida Southern (11-5) might tie things up at one set apiece. After back-to-back attack errors by Mocs’ hitters drew the ‘Fish within three points (23-20) a pair of kills by Elly Raush and Alessi sandwiched around another FSC hitting error suddenly had the set tied at 23-23.

Two more Alessi kills down the stretch would eventually seal things up in favor of the Blue and White as Alessi combined with Stephany Brown for one of the team’s eight blocks on the night to win 26-24.

Now leading 2-0 some doubt may have creeped in for PBA following a 25-21 win by Florida Southern in set three but the young PBA defense would shine once again in the fourth and final set as they limited the Mocs to only a .102 hitting percentage on their way to a tight 26-24 win to close out the match.

Alessi finished with match-high honors of 17 kills with just two hitting errors while totaling a .385 hitting percentage over 39 total attacks. The King’s Academy product finished with six block assists to lead the team.

Rohn followed Alessi in double-figures with 12 kills while Brown and Raush each chipped in seven kills. Raush saw her first action of the season following an injury and performed well despite the long layoff as she managed seven kills on just 18 swings for a respectable .222 hitting percentage.

Becca Acevedo guided the Sailfish offense once again from the setter position with 32 assists to go along with a season-high 17 digs.

Melissa Buckingham led a huge defensive effort from the Sailfish backline as she managed a career-high 32 digs in just four sets. The Southlake, Texas native led four players from Palm Beach Atlantic who reached double-digits in digs including a career-best 18 digs from Alex Marszalek and 14 digs by fellow sophomore Rachael Holehouse.

Adding to the good work shown by the defense was junior Brytney Annis who posted five block assists.

PBA will open up play at the Pepsi Bash at the Beach Tournament on Friday with a 1 pm match against Stonehill College followed by a 7 pm match versus Georgia College.