WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Palm Beach Atlantic volleyball team finished the weekend with a matchup against SSC foe, Florida Southern at Rubin Arena on Saturday afternoon. 

PBA (6-8, 2-4 SSC) picked up its second conference win of the season, sweeping the Mocs in three sets. The Sailfish have now won five straight matches against FSC (6-4, 3-3 SSC), dating back to 2018. The 'Fish have won eight of their last 10 against the Mocs. The win snaps a two-match skid for PBA.

Jazz Schmidt led the 'Fish in with 17 kills for the second consecutive match. She hit a team-high .519 while adding 14 assists and eight digs to her stat line. Alyse Cundiff had an efficient afternoon with nine kills while hitting .500. Amber Rowoldt finished with six kills, eight digs, and three block assists. Alyssa Avitia led PBA with 21 assists along with eight digs. Libero Ally Smith tallied a team-high 10 digs with three services aces. Freshman Lauren Cummings added three aces off the bench. 

PBA pulled away early and never looked back in the first set. A 7-2 run with kills from Maddy Hooper, a kill by Anna Gregerson, and an ace by Cummings gave PBA a 12-7 lead. The Sailfish excelled at keeping their distance on the scoreboard throughout the set. A pair of kills from Schmidt and an ace by Smith made it 17-11 later in the set. FSC tried to battle back at the end with a 4-1 run, but PBA held on for a 25-20 set win.

The Sailfish led wire-to-wire in the second set. PBA jumped out to a 6-0 lead which included four kills from Schmidt and an ace from Rowoldt. Late in the set, a 4-0 run with a kill from Mary Morgan Formby and two from Schmidt made it 23-16, and all but shut the door on the set. Another kill from Schmidt put the exclamation point on a 25-19 set win for the Sailfish. PBA hit .364 in the second set, its best performance of the afternoon. Schmidt had seven of her kills in the second set.

The third set was more competitive with five ties. The Sailfish led 17-12 after a kill from Hooper, but the Mocs did not go away quietly. A pair of blocks for FSC was part of a 5-0 run which tied the set at 17. A service error for the Mocs helped PBA answer with a 4-0 run with a pair of kills from Gregerson and another ace from Cummings to make it 21-17. FSC cut the deficit to make it 23-21, but the Sailfish earned the 25-21 win after a kill from Schmidt and an ace from Smith.

PBA outhit the Mocs in the set, .278-.242. The Sailfish also totaled 10 aces compared to just four for FSC. The 'Fish finished the match with a 67 percent side-out percentage.

Sailfish volleyball competes again at home on Oct. 8 against Barry. The match at Rubin Arena starts at 7 p.m.