WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Sailfish will have another opportunity to play for the NCAA South Region Championship after defeating Saint Leo 3-2 (25-16, 24-26, 20-25, 25-15, 15-8) on Friday night in the semifinals. The ‘Fish will be making their third appearance in the title match in four years.

PBA came out firing on Friday night, picking up 15 kills and hitting .448 in the opening set as both Emma Ballantyne and Faith Rohn collected five kills in the set. The Lions (21-11) rallied in the second and took an early 6-3 lead that quickly became 10-4 in favor of Saint Leo.

The Sailfish put a rally together late in the set, overcoming an 18-14 deficit to take a 19-18 lead. Sarah Ragland picked up her only two kills of the set during the run. PBA had set point at 24-22 with a chance to go up 2-0 in the match but the Lions rallied with three kills – two from Hope Lemon – to pull out a 26-24 decision.

The Lions continued their momentum into the third, leading 3-1 early and building a 19-14 lead after trailing 14-12.The Sailfish had their worst offensive output of the match in the third set with just 12 kills and a .143 attack. The Lions had 18 kills in the set and hit .265, hitting .203 for the match. The Sailfish hit .297 on the night.

Things picked up for the Sailfish in the fourth, hitting .389 with 14 kills as they opened a 17-9 lead with an 8-2 run. Ballantyne led the way with four kills on six swings, finishing the match with 12 kills on 24 attacks.

PBA led 8-5 in the fifth as the teams changed ends and scored the final four points, capped off by Faith Rohn’s 18th kill of the match.  Rohn added 12 digs to her .294 attack percentage for a double-double. Ballantyne added four blocks to go with her 12 kills.

Ally Rohn collected 11 kills to go along with a team-high 25 assists and a team-high 25 digs for her ninth triple-double of the season. Rachael Holehouse added 20 digs and six assists. Alexandra Roberts tallied 25 assists and six digs as Susie Forbes collected 14 digs.

The Sailfish and Florida Southern will decide who will represent the South Region in Tampa for the NCAA National Tournament on Saturday at 7 p.m. The first 300 PBA students at the match will receive free admission beginning at 6 p.m.