BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Palm Beach Atlantic volleyball team traveled to Alabama to compete in the annual SSC/GSC South Region Crossover event, beginning with two matches on Friday.

The Sailfish started the day with a match against Shorter, followed by a meeting with Alabama-Huntsville. Despite playing several close sets, the Sailfish dropped both matches of the day. Shorter won the opening match in four sets, followed by a three-set loss against UAH as the nightcap.

Today marked the first time the Sailfish dropped a match in the crossover, having joined the tournament in 2015.

PBA looks to bounce back tomorrow when it takes on Union (Tenn.) to close the tournament. The match is scheduled for 12:15 p.m.

Match One - Shorter: 3, PBA: 1

After a 30-minute delay, the Sailfish took on Shorter to begin the tournament. An early run from the Hawks dug an early hole for PBA, trailing 12-6. The 'Fish cut the deficit to two, but some errors on the attack allowed the Hawks to pull away again. With Shorter leading 23-15, The Sailfish stormed back with kills by Abbie Zylstra and Mary Morgan Formby and an ace from Jayden Otto. A pair of errors by Shorter brought PBA back to trail by one point, 24-23. Unfortunately for the 'Fish, a block error clinched the set for the Hawks.

The Sailfish started to find a rhythm in the second set. Kayla Matthews made a big impact on the offensive end helping PBA work its way to an 18-13 lead. Matthews totaled six kills in the set and PBA hit a match-best .235 in the set. A service ace from the Hawks and an ace from Matthews secured a 25-20 set win for the 'Fish.

PBA was forced to play from behind early in the third set. Some unforced errors allowed Shorter to take a 21-15 lead. Unforced errors by the Hawks and a pair of kills by Harper Stokes helped trim the deficit to three points. It was not enough to overcome the Hawks as a service error allowed Shorter to win, 25-21.

After the Sailfish started with an early lead in the fourth set, Shorter stormed back to take an 11-9 lead. A pair of aces from Otto put PBA back in front. The Sailfish led for a few points until a 5-1 run put Shorter ahead 19-17. Kills from Anna Gregerson and Angeleyshka Curbelo gave PBA a 22-20 lead, but Shorter closed the set on a 5-0 run, ended by a pair of unforced errors from the Sailfish to win the final set, 25-22.

Matthews led PBA with 16 kills, seven digs, and an efficient .324 hitting percentage. Zylstra totaled eight kills and eight digs. Gregerson finished with six kills and two blocks. Formby recorded five kills and two blocks. Otto tallied 30 assists with 10 digs and three aces. Lauren Cummings finished with a team-best 13 digs and two aces. Jayna Bredenberg has 12 digs of her own.

PBA was outhit in the match .188 - .097 by the Hawks. The 'Fish totaled 20 unforced attack errors and 12 service errors in the match.

Match Two - UAH: 3, PBA: 0

Unforced errors continued to haunt the Sailfish later in the day. UAH took advantage, taking a 17-6 lead in the first set thanks to seven attack errors that were not blocked. The deficit got back down as low as five points, but UAH took the first set, 25-17.

Both teams traded large runs to open the second set before PBA took a 17-13 lead after a kill from Matthews, an ace from Bredenburg, and a pair of errors by the Chargers. The attack from Zylstra, Matthews, Ammons, and Gregerson put PBA ahead 22-16. UAH stayed alive, crawling all the way back to tie the set at 24. Both teams traded points until PBA led, 30-29. The Chargers closed the set on a 3-0 run with two kills and a block. PBA had four chances to win the set.

The Sailfish held a lead midway through the third set after a kill from Matthews and a block from Kaileigh Ammons and Otto. The squads traded leads until the 'Fish took a 22-21 lead. Unfortunately for the Sailfish, they failed to close out the set. The Chargers closed out the set and the match with four straight points to win, 25-22.

Matthews led PBA again with nine kills and six digs. Ammons totaled eight kills with five blocks. Zylstra recorded seven kills and seven digs. Otto recorded 30 assists with four digs and two blocks. Cummings had a team-best 11 digs.