WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Palm Beach Atlantic volleyball opened up Sunshine State Conference play on Friday night in front of a big crowd inside Rubin Arena.  The 'Fish defeated Lynn University 3-1 in the home opener for the Sailfish to improve to 9-0 on the year.  The Fighting Knights drop to 6-2 with the defeat and have not defeated the Sailfish since September of 2010.

The 'Fish got off to a good start in what was a back-and-forth first set of action.  Neither team was able to open up a big lead until back-to-back kills by redshirt-sophomore Jennie Anderson gave the Sailfish a 22-18 lead late in the set.  The Sailfish would also get late kills from Ally Smith and Raegan Grooms to take the set by a 25-22 score.

The second set was more of the same, as both teams had runs early in the set but neither team was able to pull away as Lynn led 22-21 late in the set.  The Fighting Knights got big kills from Bridgette O'Connor and Rafaela Fonseca to seal the 25-22 second set win to even up the match.

The third set was closely contested early as the Sailfish hung on to a 17-15 lead before Grooms and freshman Amber Rowoldt took over.  Rowoldt picked up a couple of huge kills and Grooms had a kill and a service ace to allow the 'Fish to pull away and win the set convincingly 25-18.  The 'Fish hit .226 in the third set, and held Lynn to just a .037 clip.

Lynn did not go down without a fight however, as they found themselves down 20-16 in the fourth set, and proceeded to rattle off five straight points to take a 21-20 lead.  The 'Fish then got three kills from Rowoldt, one from Burkhardt, and a clutch service ace from Lilly Turner to close out the Fighting Knights in four sets.

Rowoldt led the Sailfish with 16 kills on the night, as the freshman added 10 digs for another double-double. Anderson had a very efficient night for the 'Fish, as she finished with 11 kills and just four errors on 16 swings while adding four blocks.  Maddie Span was dominant at the net as well on the night, as she put down eight kills and led the 'Fish with six blocks.  Grooms had another double-double with 10 kills and 11 digs. Burkhardt had 40 assists for the 'Fish while Turner led with 13 digs.