BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Palm Beach Atlantic volleyball team played the final game of its 10-game road trip on Saturday against SSC foe Lynn.
The Sailfish had to deal with playing in front of a loud, Lynn (9-1, 2-0 Sunshine State Conference) home crowd which made for a tough environment. The Fighting Knights outhit PBA .275-.133 in the match on their way to a 3-1 win.
PBA (6-4, 1-1 SSC) put itself in a hole early. The finished started with sloppy play in the first set as two attack errors and a set error gave the Fighting Knights a 9-4 lead. The Sailfish battled back to tie the set at 10 thanks to a pair of kills by
Sam Wolf and a kill by
Jazz Schmidt. The set remained tightly contested until the tail end. With Lynn leading 20-18, the Fighting Knights ended the set on a five-point run to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
Lynn attempted to take a two-set advantage in the second set. The Fighting Knights led 14-11 in the middle of the set; however, PBA regrouped to tie the set at 15 thanks to a kill and back-to-back aces by Schmidt. Both teams exchanged leads, but the Sailfish eventually went on to win the set 25-22 despite hitting just .146 as a team.
The third set started as a back and forth affair. Although PBA had its most efficient set so far on offense, the Sailfish struggled to defend the Lynn attack. The Fighting Knights hit .357 as a team in the third set. With the Sailfish leading 17-15, the hosts ripped off a 10-3 run to win the set 25-20.
With their back against the wall, the Sailfish attempted to force a fifth set; however, Lynn started strong in the fifth set. The Fighting Knights got out to a 10-6 lead early in the set, but the Sailfish rallied to tie the set at 11. Lynn pulled away again to take a 22-16 lead and the Fighting Knights never looked back. Lynn won the fourth set 25-19 to clinch the match.
Amber Rowoldt and Wolf led the Sailfish with 14 kills each. Schmidt finished with 11 kills and 17 assists.
Emma Pieper totaled 24 assists and
Lilly Turner recorded 14 digs.
PBA will host its home opener next Friday against Saint Leo. The match will start at 7 p.m.
