DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – It wasn't easy but No. 4 Palm Beach Atlantic remained unbeaten on the year, defeating Embry-Riddle for their first-ever Sunshine State Conference victory.
The Sailfish (6-0) saw their streak of consecutive sets won halted in the second set Friday night and then faced a 2-1 deficit before rallying in the fourth and controlling the fifth to earn the 25-21, 21-25, 20-25, 25-19, 15-7 victory. The 'Fish had won 16 straight sets before falling in set two against the Eagles.
Raegan Grooms and Ally Rohn led the 'Fish with 14 kills each as the team hit .256 in the match. The difference from the first five matches of the season was the opposition hit .225. The Sailfish came into the match the third-best team in DII with opponents hitting just .046 on the season.
In the fourth set the 'Fish were tied with the Eagles (2-2) 14-14 needing a win to force a fifth and deciding set. A 6-0 run thanks in large part to a pair of blocks and two aces from Susie Forbes gave the Sailfish control of the set and momentum heading into the fifth.
After falling behind 3-1 in the deciding set, the Sailfish ran off eight straight points to take a commanding 9-3 lead. In that run Rohn had back-to-back kills to get it started before three straight blocks – two with Jazz Schmidt and Sarah Kimmey and one solo block by Kimmey – gave the Sailfish a six-point edge. PBA scored the final three points of the set to take the match, fittingly the final point on a block from Maddie Span and Molly Burkhardt. The 'Fish finished the match with 12 team blocks.
Seven different players recorded a block with Kimmey and Span leading the way with six each. Kimmey added 10 kills and a .429 attack percentage while Span had eight kills and a .304 attack.
Rohn added a team-high 31 assists to her 14 kills for her sixth double-double as she missed out on a triple double by one dig. Grooms added her second double-double of the year with 13 digs to go along with her 14 kills.
Schmidt collected 12 kills, seven assists, four digs and two blocks while hitting .375. Burkhardt added 23 assists, four digs, two kills and two blocks while Susie Forbes collected 13 digs and five assists.
The Sailfish and Eagles were originally scheduled to play this match in West Palm Beach but after Hurricane Irma the teams flipped home dates with Embry-Riddle now set to visit Rubin Arena on Tuesday, Oct. 24 at 7 p.m.
PBA will head to Rollins College on Saturday for a 4 p.m. first serve against the Tars.
