WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Palm Beach Atlantic volleyball team played its home opener on Friday against Cedarville.

The match marked PBA's new head coach Jeff Huebner's first time coaching inside Rubin Arena. The home crowd gave the Sailfish a rousing welcome, and the squad rewarded them with a dramatic, 3-2 win. The win marks the first victory for the Sailfish at PBA's Bash at the Beach since 2022.

"Very proud of our team to put together our first 5-set win of the season," Huebner said. "We had a lot of varied contributions from our team in timely spots that make us a strong program."

The win was highlighted by reigning SSC Defensive Player of the Week, Harper Stokes, turning in another 11-block performance while leading the team with a .545 hitting percentage. Sydney Corbett made her Rubin Arena debut, leading the Sailfish attached with 16 kills, hitting .167 and tallying 15 digs. Kaileigh Ammons notched 10 kills of her own, hitting an efficient .381 with five blocks. Giulia  Santuari totaled seven kills, hitting .357 with three blocks. Anna Beth Stokes led the team with 34 assists, six digs, and three blocks. Jayna Bredenberg led the Sailfish with 20 digs as libero.

"Giulia continues to play at a high level on the right side for us, while Harper and Kaileigh lead the way for us throughout the match as attackers and blockers," Huebner said. "We LOVE Rubin! The Fish Tank was loud and invested and we can't wait to see all our fans and families tomorrow!"

The first three sets were all tightly contested, ending with a final score of 25-23. The Sailfish took both of the first two sets, taking a 2-0 lead in the match. The Yellow Jackets notched three aces in the third set which made all the difference and kept Cedarville alive. CU took the fourth set in commanding fashion, forcing a fifth set.

PBA snatched the momentum back early in the fifth set, taking an 8-2 lead after three kills from Ammons. CU battled back to cut the PBA lead to 9-8. The 'Fish kept their composure, ending the match on a 6-1 run with a block by H. Stokes putting an exclamation point on the victory.

The Sailfish outhit the Yellow Jackets by a narrow margin, .186-.166. Cedarville totaled 13 aces compared to five for PBA. The Sailfish totaled 16 blocks as a team.

PBA concludes the Bash at the Beach on Saturday with matches against West Liberty and Walsh. The first match in Rubin Arena takes place at 1 p.m.