TAMPA, Fla. – The No. 3 seeded Palm Beach Atlantic volleyball team gave the No. 1 Tampa Spartans a fierce challenge in the NCAA South Regional Final on Saturday evening, but ultimately the Sailfish fell to the nation’s top team 3-1 from the Martinez Center on the campus of the University of Tampa.

PBA, on the heels of a five-set marathon in the regional semi-final, came out slow in the opening set. After falling behind 4-0 to start, the Sailfish climbed back into the match and eventually knotted the score at 8-8. Every time the Spartans would inch ahead, the ‘Fish came crawling back and eventually took a 23-22 lead. UT rallied however, and stole the first set by a 25-23 mark.

Set two provided Tampa with the opportunity to show why they are the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA)’s top team. The host Spartans had 14 total kills and committed no attack errors en route to a 25-14 set victory. Palm Beach Atlantic didn’t roll over and quit, however, and made things interesting for the hometown fans.

Even though the third set was becoming eerily similar to the second, with Tampa leading 15-9, PBA called a timeout and came out a rejuvenated team. The Sailfish rattled off the next six points to tie the score at 15-15, but then fell behind again. Facing match point at 24-22, Palm Beach Atlantic capitalized off of two UT errors and rallied for the 28-26 set victory.

The set loss, only the fifth for Tampa in the regional tournament in the last 10 years, seemed to motivate the Spartans for the fourth set, as they grabbed the lead early and never looked back on the way to a 25-12 win.

Junior Faith Rohn and sophomore Emma Ballantyne led the way for PBA with 13 kills apiece, and freshman Sarah Ragland added 11. Junior libero Rachael Holehouse had 18 digs while Rohn finished with 11.

Palm Beach Atlantic’s two seniors, Becca Acevedo and Melissa Buckingham, performed admirably down to the final point on Saturday night. Acevedo finished the match with 44 assists and five digs, while Buckingham had 10 digs and a kill. The duo was the foundation of a Sailfish program that went 124-17 during their four years on the court, reaching the NCAA postseason three consecutive years (2012, 2013, 2014), and helping turn PBA into a nationally-recognized program.

PBA’s record finishes at an outstanding 30-4.