TAMPA, Fla. – The Palm Beach Atlantic volleyball team faced a tough test on Tuesday at No. 4-ranked Tampa.

The Sailfish hoped to put the Spartans on upset alert and help spoil Tampa's SSC championship aspirations. A win over the defending national champions would have slid Tampa (23-2, 13-2 SSC)  to second place in the SSC. PBA (12-14, 6-10 SSC) fought hard for three sets but came up short against Tampa, 3-0.

Abbie Zylstra led PBA with 10 kills and five digs. Angeleyshka Curbelo totaled seven kills, six digs, and two blocks. Harper Stokes recorded six kills with a block, hitting an efficient .556. Jayna Bredenberg recorded a team-high nine digs. Jayden Otto tallied 21 assists with five digs.

The Spartans got to work early in the first set. Tampa hit .342 as a team in the opener, getting ahead early and not looking back, winning 25-18. The Sailfish held a lead of their own. A 4-0 run, including a kill from Stokes and two kills from Zylstra made it 11-10 PBA. Unfortunately for the 'Fish, Tampa answered with a 9-3 run to take a 20-13 lead. The Spartans took the second set, 25-19.

The third set was largely controlled by Tampa. The Spartans hit a match-best .357 in the third set, leading to a 25-14 win in the third set.

PBA returns home on Friday to host Eckerd. The match at Rubin Arena takes place at 7 p.m.