WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – After a busy weekend and a promotion to No. 18 in the AVCA, Palm Beach Atlantic volleyball hosted No. 25 Florida Southern College and fell 3-2 in the Rubin Arena.

The loss is the first of the season for the Sailfish, who are now 20-1.

PBA jumped ahead to a two game advantage thanks to strong play from Faith Rohn early on. The outside hitter had 12 kills with just three errors in the first two sets, which the ‘Fish won 25-19 and 26-24.

Facing a giant deficit, the Mocs came scrapping their way back into the match in the third set. They established a strong front on the block and held Palm Beach Atlantic to just a .136 attack percentage in the set. With a dominating 25-17 victory, the Sailfish were unable to snatch back the momentum in the fourth set.

After falling behind early, PBA did their best to fight back into the match, but were unable to get the attack going for the second straight set, hitting just .157 as a team.

The fifth and final set displayed fine defense on both sides of the ball. Libero Rachael Holehouse and DS Melissa Buckingham kept the Sailfish alive with one highlight-reel play after another along the back line, and Rohn added another six kills, but ultimately the Mocs used their balanced attack and took advantage of crucial PBA errors for the set and match win.

For the Sailfish, Rohn led the way with 28 kills and had just seven errors. Katie Ballantyne was the only other player with double-digit kills for PBA, finishing with 10. Junior right side hitter Stephany Brown chipped in nine kills.

Palm Beach Atlantic’s defense shined the entire night, with five players finishing in double-digits in digs. Holehouse led the way with 31, while setter Becca Acevedo and Lauren Alberti added 20 digs apiece. Completing the stellar defensive performance were Rohn and Buckingham, who had 19 and 18 digs respectively.

PBA returns to action on Wednesday night when they travel to Florida Tech to take on the Panthers at 7 pm. They’ll get back to the Rubin Arena on October 22nd when they host Palm Beach County rival Lynn University, also at 7 pm.