FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Palm Beach Atlantic volleyball team traveled to Nova Southeastern for its first Sunshine State Conference match of 2019 on Friday.
 
Competing in their first SSC match must have motivated the Sailfish as PBA came out firing on all cylinders. The 'Fish were in control the whole match, sweeping Nova Southeastern 3-0.
 
The Sailfish started out strong in the first set. PBA got out to a 8-3 lead thanks to a pair of kills by Jazz Schmidt and a pair of blocks by Anna Gregerson. Although the Sharks tightened the deficit, PBA pulled away again with a 10-2 run to take a 22-13 lead. A triple block by Amber Rowoldt, Caroline Swan and Jennie Anderson and a kill by Sam Wolf put the exclamation points on the first set that PBA won 25-17.
 
PBA carried the momentum into the second set. After both teams battled back and forth to start the set, the Sailfish pulled away with a 10-4 run which included three kills from Wolf as well as kills from Swan, Anderson and Rowoldt that gave PBA a 15-8 lead. The Sailfish won the second set 25-17.
 
The third set was more tightly contested as Nova Southeastern attempted to avoid being swept at home. Both teams struggled to pull away. It seemed like the match was destined for a fourth set after the Sharks took a 24-23 lead; however, PBA responded in a big way. A ball handling error tied the set at 24 before Wolf clinched the match for the Sailfish with back-to-back kills, winning the set for PBA 26-24.
 
Rowoldt led the Sailfish with 12 kills, followed by Wolf who finished with 11 kills on an efficient .524 hitting percentage. Schmidt finished with nine kills, 13 assists and three aces to the Sailfish cause. Emma Pieper led with 18 assists, while Lilly Turner totaled 16 digs as the libero. PBA operated smoothly with its attack, hitting .320 as a team. 
 
The Sailfish will look to build off of tonight's win when they play Lynn tomorrow. The match in Boca Raton, Florida, will take place at 4 p.m.