WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Palm Beach Atlantic volleyball team hosted Eckerd on Senior Day, Friday night in Rubin Arena.
The Sailfish faced off against the Tritons for the first team this season after their previously scheduled match was postponed due to Hurricane Ian. PBA (12-15, 6-11 SSC) competed well, playing several of its young pieces, but Eckerd (21-5, 10-5 SSC) came out on top, 3-0.
Before tonight's match, PBA honored seniors
Grace Talbert,
Kayla Matthews, and
Angeleyshka Curbelo.
Kaileigh Ammons led PBA with eight kills and two blocks.
Abbie Zylstra recorded five kills and six digs. Curbelo finished with four kills and six digs.
Harper Stokes recorded four kills, hitting a team-best, .500.
Jayden Otto had a team-high 19 assists and 10 digs.
Jayna Bredenberg tallied nine kills and two assists as libero.
The first set was neck-and-neck before an 8-2 run by the Tritons gave them an 18-12 lead. Several attack errors from the visitors let PBA back into the match. Unfortunately for the 'Fish, they returned the favor for EC, and a pair of attack errors closed the set out for Eckerd, 25-18.
The second set followed the same pattern as the first. The teams traded leads before an 8-2 run from the Tritons put EC ahead, 20-13. PBA responded with a 4-0 run of its own, including a kill from H. Stokes and an ace from
Lauren Cummings, but Eckerd took the set, 25-18.
The Sailfish fell behind early in the first set, but PBA fought back to tie it with help from the freshmen
Mary Jones,
Anna Beth Stokes, H. Stokes. and Zylstra. The young Sailfish hung with the Tritons until a small run by EC late in the set allowed Eckerd to win, 25-22.
Despite holding Eckerd to a .151 team hitting percentage, the Sailfish were outhit due to hitting .061 as a team. The Tritons posted a 64 side-out percentage compared to a 50 percent mark for PBA.
The Sailfish play their last home match of the season on Saturday against the No. 4-ranked Tampa Spartans. The match at Rubin Arena takes place at 4 p.m.
