WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The Palm Beach Atlantic volleyball team defeated Florida Tech 3-1 (25-21, 21-25, 25-21 and 25-23) Thursday at Rubin Arena.
The Sailfish closed out the match by overcoming a 17-19 deficit in the fourth set to move ahead 22-20 before taking the set. The Sailfish finished with 59 kills, 72 digs and a season-high 11 service aces.
Sydney Corbett paced the Sailfish with 22 kills and 25.0 points, hitting .354 while adding two service aces and eight digs.
Sofia Augusto had a team-high 22 digs with four assists and reached the 400-dig milestone, bringing her total to 410 digs after the match.
Juliana Imbuzeiro contributed 29 assists, 11 digs and three service aces, and
Nae Jordan added a season-high 13 kills while hitting .360.
"A big win for our team tonight, with GREAT 'Fish Fans on a fall break game," PBA head coach
Jeff Huebner said. "Juliana lead the way with her first double-double for us this year, with Sofia playing a huge match in receive and on defense." Sydney was brilliant again, and we got some really timely team play from Lexi, Kelsey, Maygan, and Ava off the bench tonight. Looking forward to a top 15 match in the Rubin on Saturday!"
Imbuzeiro served consecutive aces as PBA took the first three points of the match. The Sailfish answered a 21-21 tie by scoring the final four points, with
Simi Kapustova putting the home side back in front on a kill from Imbuzeiro before
Brighten Sedmack recorded a block and Corbett served an ace as the Sailfish finished the set at 25-21.
The Sailfish twice pushed back in the second set, first using an Imbuzeiro service turn to close Tech's 13-8 lead to 13-12 with Corbett kills and Florida Tech errors. Later,
Lexi Berry served the Sailfish from 23-17 to 23-21, adding an ace while Jordan put away two kills from
Jess Horn assists. Tech stopped the late run and took the set, 25-21.
The Sailfish closed the third set with five straight points after falling behind 21-20, finishing a 25-21 set win. Corbett had four kills during the final stretch, including the points that pulled the Sailfish even at 20-20 and 21-21, and Imbuzeiro served the final four points capped off by a set-ending ace.
The Sailfish rallied from a 15-9 fourth-set deficit and moved in front late, turning a 19-17 deficit into a 22-20 lead.
Kelsey Rogers' kill and Horn's ace tied the set at 19-19, and after
Ava McIntyre answered at 20-20, a Tech attack error and Corbett kill put the Sailfish ahead 22-20. Corbett added two more late kills, and Jordan finished the 25-23 set win from Imbuzeiro.
Up next, the Sailfish host No. 12-ranked Barry on Saturday, Oct. 24, at 4 p.m. at Rubin Arena.
