MIAMI, Fla. - The Palm Beach Atlantic beach volleyball team carried its 4-0 record into a tri-match this afternoon against two instate Divison-I opponents in No. 13 ranked Florida International and Florida Gulf Coast. The Sailfish suffered their first defeats of the season, falling 4-1 in both matches.  

Match 1: PBA 1, #13 FIU 4

The Sailfish faced their toughest test of the season as they faced off against the number 13 ranked Panthers of FIU. Julia Golichowski and Gabriella Aziz at the No. 4 position hadn't dropped a single set this season, but they suffered their first defeat of the season as they fell in straight sets, 21-5, 21-15. Jessica Nodell and Sydney Wagner suffered the same fate at the No. 5 position as they lost 21-11, 21-13 in their match. PBA's undefeated strong No. 1 duo of Jazz Schmidt and Lunden Evans didn't have any better luck against the Panthers top team as they went down in straight sets 21-10, 21-15. The Panthers clinched the match victory with the third win, but they added one more win as Emma Pieper and Olivia Finckel dropped their two sets 21-11, 21-12 at the No. 3 position. The Sailfish were able to get on the board though against the ranked Panthers as Lyndzey Minter and Abby DeVido were victorious in two close sets 21-19, 21-18.    

Match 2: PBA 1, FGCU 4

The Sailfish faced their second Division-I in-state opponent of the day as they squared off against a 4-0 Florida Gulf Coast Eagles side. Wagner and Nodell at the No. 5 position was the first match to finish as they fell in two close sets 21-15, 21-19. The two defeats for the tandem were their first defeats for the season. Golichowski and Aziz at the No. 4 position went down in two sets that could have gone either way 21-19, 21-15. The team of Pieper and Finckel dropped their third match of the season as a duo as they dropped both sets 21-16. DeVido and Minter, who were coming off the lone victory earlier in the day went three close sets, but fell to the Eagles team after winning the first set, 15-21, 24-22, 15-8. The top Sailfish duo of Evans and Schmidt were able to bounce back from their earlier defeat and pull out a three-set win, 21-15, 19-21, 18-16 to gain a point for the Sailfish.

Up next, the Sailfish will face off against two tough Sunshine State Conference competitors in Saint Leo and Tampa at a tri-match hosted by the Spartans. The Sailfish defeated the Lions earlier in the season 3-2.