PENSACOLA, Fla. – The Palm Beach Atlantic volleyball team made its return to the NCAA regional tournament for the first time since 2018. The Sailfish faced SSC foe Tampa in the opening round.

PBA earned an at-large bid as the seven seed in the tournament, facing the number two seed SSC champions Tampa. The Sailfish looked for revenge against the Spartans that swept the season series against the 'Fish. PBA played three competitive sets against Tampa but came up short in all three. The Spartans swept the match, 3-0 to advance to the second round to play Nova Southeastern.

Amber Rowoldt led PBA's attack with 12 kills hitting .206 with four digs and two blocks. Alyse Cundiff recorded eight kills, hitting .278 with six digs. Jazz Schmidt tallied a double-double with a team-high 15 assists and 11 digs along with seven kills. Schmidt hit an efficient .353 in the match. Maddy Hooper led the PBA front row with five blocks with two kills.

The Sailfish stuck with the Spartans through the first half of the first set with a ball handling error making it 16-14 UT. The Spartans finally pulled away with a 6-1 run with three unforced errors from PBA. The run gave the Spartans a 22-15 lead and PBA never recovered, dropping the set 25-18.

PBA traded leads with the Spartans throughout the set as neither team could pull away. With the Sailfish leading 8-7, a 4-0 run from the Spartans gave them an 11-8 lead. With Tampa leading 17-15, kills from Cundiff, Mary Morgan Formby, Rowoldt, and Anna Gregerson gave PBA a 20-19 lead. Unfortunately for the 'Fish, they couldn't close out the set. Tampa ended the second on a 6-0 run to win 25-20 and take a 2-0 lead in the match.

The Sailfish tried to stay alive to force a fourth set. Kills from Rowoldt coupled with a block from Marlena Kincaid and Hooper gave the Sailfish a 14-12 lead midway through the set. Tampa was determined to close out the match, answering with an 8-2 run to retake a 20-16 lead. PBA failed to respond as the Spartans held on to win 25-22 and win the match 3-0.

PBA hit .165 in the match, including a match-best .250 in the third set. The Sailfish finish the year with an 18-14 overall record for the 2021 season. This year marked PBA's return to the court and return to NCAA regionals after missing last year's season due to Covid-19. PBA looks to restart its streak of making it to the NCAA tournament, which it did from 2012-18.