JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The Palm Beach Atlantic beach volleyball team hit the road for the first time this season as they played four matches at the Jacksonville University Invitational. The Sailfish went 1-3 over two days of play falling against College of Charleston and Jacksonville on Friday and No. 8 ranked Georgia State and Tusculum on Saturday.
Match 1: PBA - 1 | College of Charleston - 4
The Sailfish dropped their first match of the early season as they faced the Division I Cougars. PBA's No. 4 pair of
Mya Krystosek and
Natalie Skopalova fell in a close match that could have gone either way to start the day 21-19 and 22-20.
Karla Cantero and
Marilyn Cesaro at the No. 5 position dropped a close three-set match 21-14, 13-21, 15-13. The Cougars clinched the best-of-five match by taking down PBA's No. 3 tandem of
Savannah DeCarlo and
Abigail Mason 21-15, 21-16. The top 'Fish pair of
Lunden Evans and
Rebekah Machovec went down in another close two-set match 21-18, 23-21. PBA's lone victory came in the No. 2 match as
Gabriella Aziz and
Ashleigh Holweger won a three-setter 21-14, 18-21, 15-10.
Match 2: PBA - 1 | Jacksonville - 4
The Sailfish have had plenty of success against the Dolphins in previous meetings as PBA led the series against the D-I side 4-0, but Jacksonville got their first win of the series as they took down the 'Fish 4-1. PBA continued with the same lineup they used against the Cougars which led off with Cantero and Cesaro falling in a close two-set match 21-17, 21-19. DeCarlo and Mason fell by the same margin in their No. 3 match 21-19, 21-17 while PBA earned a win at the No. 4 position as Krystosek and Skopalova pulled out a three-setter 19-21, 21-16, 15-11. Aziz and Holweger went down at No. 2 in straight sets 21-13, 22-20 while Evans and Machovec dropped a back-and-forth three setter 21-19, 18-21, 15-13.
Match 3: PBA - 0 | No. 8 Georgia State - 5
The Sailfish came back to the courts on Saturday to take on a nationally ranked side in Georgia State and fell in every match against the Panthers. Evans and Aziz paired up at the No. 1 position and fell to the top Panther side 21-14, 21-19. PBA's No. 2 tandem of
Oda Homme and Holweger fell in a third set 15-12 after the two sides split the first two sets 21-16. Skopalova and Krystosek at No. 3 and DeCarlo and Mason at position No. 4 each fell in straight sets in their matches while Cantero and Cesaro fell 21-17, 24-22 as the Panthers swept the match.
Match 4: PBA - 4 | Tusculum - 1
The Sailfish earned a victory in their final match of the weekend as they took down the Pioneers 4-1. Cantero and DeCarlo teamed up at the No. 5 position to win in two sets 21-17, 21-13. Krystosek and Skopalova were paired together at the No. 4 position and pulled out a close three-setter 23-21, 14-21, 15-7. The Sailfish secured the match as their No. 1 pairing of Evans and Machovec cruised in their match 21-6, 21-11. Having secured the three points for victory, the Sailfish won another match at the No. 2 as Aziz and Holweger prevailed 21-18 in straight sets. The lone Pioneer's victory came at the No. 3 spot as Homme and Mason were grouped together and fell 21-17, 16-21, 15-10.
The Sailfish faced a tough test against three D-I opponents over the weekend and their slate won't get much easier as they will once again be tested by big programs when they take the court again. PBA will travel down to Boca to face off against Southern Miss, Texas A&M - Corpus Christi, Saint Leo, and ranked Florida Athletic on March 3-4.
