TAMPA, Fla. – In a matchup of the only two No. 1 seeds to make it to Tampa, Wheeling Jesuit got the best of Palm Beach Atlantic on Saturday night, defeating the Sailfish 3-0 (25-22, 26-24, 26-24) to claim their first national championship.

The Sailfish end their season at 31-5 with a number of historic accomplishments, namely winning the South Region and finishing the season as the NCAA runners-up.

Ally Rohn led the Sailfish on this night with 11 kills and 13 assists, finishing one dig shy of a triple double. The team hit .095 as Wheeling Jesuit dug up 112 balls on the night, led by Jessica Thobe’s 26. The Sailfish defense was also formidable on the night, keeping one of the hottest offenses in the tournament to just a .207 attack.

Rachael Holehouse led the defense with 37 digs as the team pulled up 106 balls on the night. Faith Rohn added 25 digs and collected nine kills. Susie Forbes added 13 digs while Alexandra Roberts added 11 digs and 22 assists.

The ‘Fish fell behind early in set one, trailing 8-3 before a timeout. PBA bounced back to win four straight points but were never able to pull even in the set. A late rally pulled the ‘Fish within striking distance at 22-20 but Wheeling Jesuit answered with back-to-back points to gain some distance. PBA scored two in a row to pull within two at 24-22 but after a timeout, WJU’s Emma Schleucher gave the Cardinals the first set.

The final two sets were nearly mirror images of each as the Sailfish got out to big early leads – 10-5 in the second and 11-7 in the third – before Wheeling slowly pulled back to even. After both teams traded points the Cardinals found themselves on top by identical scores of 26-24.

The PBA offense was never able to get in sync like they had all tournament long. Sarah Ragland finished with six kills while Emma Ballantyne and Jen Cook each had five. Ballantyne added five blocks to lead the team. PBA had just eight blocks in the match while Wheeling mustered nine led by Haley Kindall’s six. Kindall added 12 kills and hit .444 while Kayce Krucki led all players with 15 kills for the Cardinals.

The Sailfish will say goodbye to seniors Alexandra Roberts, Stephany Brown, Rachael Holehouse and Faith Rohn who finish their PBA career with four NCAA Tournament appearances, three 30-win seasons and a combined record with 125-17, a winning percentage of 88 percent.

After the match senior Faith Rohn, sophomore Sarah Ragland and freshman Ally Rohn were all named to the all-tournament team. All three were also part of the South Region all-tournament team.

Postgame Press Conference (Start around 8:00 mark)