WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Palm Beach Atlantic volleyball team returned to the friendly environment of Rubin Arena to host the Lynn Fighting Knights in a Sunshine State Conference matchup on Tuesday night.
The Sailfish looked to avenge their loss against Lynn (12-5, 6-3 SSC) from earlier in the season. PBA (7-9, 3-6 SSC) faced a tough task as Lynn entered the night with the third-best record in the conference, but the Sailfish came to play in front of the home crowd and put on a show. The 'Fish held Lynn to a .126 hitting percentage on their way to a 3-0 sweep.
Abbie Zylstra led the Sailfish with 11 kills, hitting .267 with six digs, two aces, and a block.
Mary Morgan Formby and
Kaileigh Ammons totaled nine kills each. Formby was on fire, hitting .412 in the match. Ammons hit an efficient .353 with four blocks and an ace.
Taylor Nelson and
Harper Stokes recorded five kills each. Stokes swatted four blocks and hit .267.
Jayden Otto totaled a team-high 32 assists and three blocks.
Payton Ahrenstorff tallied 20 digs as libero.
Both teams traded points to open the match. PBA began to pull away as Zylstra got going. A 5-1 run, including three kills from the Michigan native, made it a 20-14 PBA advantage and forced Lynn to call a timeout. Kills from Otto, Ammons, and Formby paired with two Lynn errors, resulting in a 25-16 set win for the 'Fish. PBA hit a match-best .382 in the set with 16 kills.
Lynn looked to tie the match by winning the second set. Two unforced errors from the Sailfish allowed the Fighting Knights to take a 22-20 lead as the frame wound down. After a timeout to regroup, PBA scored three straight points to take a 23-22 lead. An attack error by Lynn and a kill from Zylstra sealed a 25-23 win for PBA to make it a 2-0 match.
The Sailfish were desperate to close out the sweep. The teams traded points throughout the third set until Lynn found themselves at set point, leading 24-23. A kill by Nelson kept the 'Fish alive, and an error by the visitors gave PBA a 25-24 lead. Back-to-back kills from Lynn put the Sailfish up against the wall again, but a big block from Stokes and Otto tied the set at 26. A Lynn block put the Fighting Knights back ahead, but the SSC foe could not fend off the Sailfish. A block by Ammons and two errors by the Fighting Knights allowed the 'Fish to clinch the set 29-27.
The 'Fish attack hit .239 for the match. PBA posted a 63 percent side-out percentage compared to 53 percent for the Fighting Knights.
PBA competes on Friday night against Rollins College. The match at Rubin Arena takes place at 7 p.m.
