BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Palm Beach Atlantic volleyball team concluded play in the SSC/GSC South Region Crossover on Saturday with a match against Union.
PBA (10-9, 4-5 SSC) started off hot to open the match, taking the first two sets. The 'Fish were on fire in the second set, hitting .381 and winning it by 10 points. Union (15-7, 8-1 GSC) did not go down easily, avoiding the sweep and forcing another five-set match for the Sailfish. The final frame was tightly contested, but the Sailfish came out on top, 15-11 to end the tournament with a win.
Union entered the match as the No. 2 team in the Gulf South Conference standings. The Sailfish needed a win after dropping both of their matches on Friday.
Kayla Matthews picked up where she left off on Friday, leading the team with 14 kills and four digs.
Abbie Zylstra totaled 12 kills with nine digs.
Mary Morgan Formby and
Kaileigh Ammons tallied eight kills each. Formby hit .444 with two blocks while Ammons hit .500 with two aces.
Jayden Otto recorded 30 assists and 10 digs.
Lauren Cummings finished with a team-best 13 digs.
The Sailfish held the advantage for most of the first set. A kill and ace from Ammons and two errors by the Bulldogs gave PBA a commanding 18-12 lead. The 'Fish took advantage of several unforced errors by Union before a block by Matthews made it a 24-18 game. Union came all the way back to make it 24-23 after two kills, an ace, and a block, but a kill from Matthews sealed the set, 25-23.
Zylstra started to get things going in the second set. She aided an early Sailfish run that gave PBA a 13-6 lead. Later in the set, a kill from Formby and two setting errors by Union made it 18-8. There was no big comeback for the Bulldogs this time as the Sailfish won the set, 25-15.
Union pulled away in the middle of the third set with an 8-0 run where PBA's serve receive started to falter. The Bulldogs ended the set on a separate 5-1 run to win, 25-15. The Bulldogs kept the momentum, starting the fourth set with a 7-1 run. The Sailfish failed to mount a comeback and lost the fourth set, 25-14.
Both teams traded leads in the fifth set, until a 5-0 run from the Sailfish with aces from Cummings and kills from Formby and Matthews gave the 'Fish a 13-10 lead. A kill from Ammons and an ace by Matthews clinched the 15-11 set win and the 3-2 match win for PBA.
The Sailfish return to Palm Beach County and travel to face Lynn on Tuesday. The match in Boca Raton, Fla. takes place at 7 p.m.
