WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Palm Beach Atlantic volleyball team finished play at the Hyatt Place Bash at the Beach on Saturday night.

The Sailfish came up short in matches against Lenoir-Rhyne (1-2) and No. 18-ranked Hillsdale (6-2). PBA (4-4) came back from down 2-0 to force a fifth set against LR, but the 'Fish dropped the final set, 16-14. PBA ended the tournament with a tough 3-0 loss against the Chargers from Hillsdale.

The tournament concluded PBA's nonconference portion of the schedule. The Sailfish begin SSC play on Friday when they travel to Nova Southeastern. The match in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. begins at 7 p.m.

Lenoir-Rhyne – 3, Palm Beach Atlantic – 2

The Sailfish got off to a slow start against a Bears' team that was looking for its first win at the Bash at the Beach. PBA attempted to fight back while trailing 20-13 in the first set. The 'Fish went on a 5-1 run which included a pair of kills from Jazz Schmidt and three attack errors from LR to cut the deficit to three. Unfortunately for the 'Fish, it was too little, too late as the Bears won the set, 25-20. It seemed as if the Sailfish were poised to bounce back in the second set. PBA held a 21-18 lead late in the set, but LR closed the set on a 7-1 run to take a 2-0 lead in the match.

PBA tried to flip the switch midway through the third set. After trailing 9-4, The 'Fish went on a 6-0 run with kills from Lauren Cummings, Alyse Cundiff, and Anna Gregerson to take a 10-9 lead. Later in the set, a 5-0 run from the 'Fish with three more kills from Cundiff, another kill from Gregerson, and an ace from Cienna Oniwa allowed the 'Fish to pull away with a 22-14 lead. Mary Morgan Formby closed out the set with a kill as PBA stayed alive with a 25-17 win.

It was evident the Sailfish had found their groove in the fourth set. Formby caught fire in the set with five kills with Amber Rowoldt and Cundiff each tallying for kills each in the set. PBA hit .324 in the set, leading to a dominant 24-14 win to force a fifth set. 

LR grabbed an early 6-1 lead to open the final set. Things looked bleak for the Sailfish, but PBA did not go without a fight. The 'Fish went on a 5-0 run to tie the set at 10. While leading 14-12, PBA had a chance to put the set away, but the Bears finished the match on a 4-0 run, taking advantage of a ball-handling error and a set error by the 'Fish. LR sealed the 3-2 win in the match after taking the final set, 16-14.

Cundiff led the PBA offense with 15 kills, five blocks, and six digs. Formby finished with 14 kills with four blocks. Rowoldt was right behind with 11 kills with six digs. Schmidt tallied her first triple-double of the year with 37 assists, 15 digs, and 10 kills while hitting .526. Gregerson led PBA with seven blocks with seven kills. Ally Smith totaled 26 digs as the libero with three service aces.

No. 18 Hillsdale – 3, Palm Beach Atlantic – 0

PBA was slow out of the gates again in its second match of the day. Hillsdale took the first match from the 'Fish, 25-12. Although they lost the first set, PBA finished the set on a 6-2 run which gave the hosts some energy heading into the second set. The Sailfish improved in the second set, but still came up short to Hillsdale, 25-18.

The Sailfish held a 12-9 lead midway through the third set; however, a 10-1 run from Hillsdale gave the Chargers a 20-13 lead. HC never looked back, winning the third set 25-19.

Cundiff led PBA with 11 kills with seven digs. Formby was right behind with 10 digs of her own. Schmidt finished with 33 assists while Smith totaled 11 digs.