WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The Palm Beach Atlantic volleyball team defeated Rollins 3-2 on Friday at Rubin Arena, winning 25-18, 26-28, 21-25, 25-18, 15-9.
After dropping the second and third sets, the Sailfish took the lead in the fourth with a stretch from 5-5 to 10-6 by winning five of six rallies. The 'Fish finished with a season-high 60 kills, nine aces and a season-high 92 digs, while the Tars hit .074 for the match. The win moved the Sailfish to 9-4 overall and 2-0 in the Sunshine State Conference.
"Always love to get a 5 set win in league play," PBA head coach
Jeff Huebner said. "I was really proud of our team overcoming some great blocking from Rollins throughout. Ava filled up the stat sheet in a big way today for us. Kaelynn and Katie found a connection in the fourth set that carried us a pretty long way today. Sofia continues to show why she is one of the best liberos in the country. We are so grateful for the Fish Tank for showing up in a HUGE way for us."
Ava McIntyre finished with a season-high 15 kills, 15 digs, and four aces.
Katie Silcott recorded a season-high 49 assists and 21 digs while adding two kills and one ace.
Kaelynn Sims posted a season-high 12 kills and five blocks.
Sofia Augusto collected 20 digs and added three assists and one ace.
The Sailfish jumped out to an 8-1 lead in the first set, with
Sydney Corbett contributing two kills and an ace during the opening stretch. Corbett has recorded at least 13 kills in three straight games. The Tars put together short responses later in the set, but the 'Fish kept separation behind additional kills from Corbett, McIntyre and Sims. The Sailfish closed the set 25-18 on a Tars attack error.
The 'Fish built a 17-10 lead in the second set, but RC scored eight straight points to move ahead 18-17. The Sailfish answered and later moved in front 24-23 on a Tars attack error and 25-24 on a McIntyre kill from Silcott. After
Leah Burlison tied the set at 26-26, RC took the final two points to hand the 'Fish a 28-26 set loss.
The Sailfish cut an early 8-3 deficit to 8-7, with Corbett recording two kills and Sims adding a service ace during the push. The Tars later moved ahead 22-15, but the 'Fish answered again, getting as close as 23-20 after an Augusto ace and a RC attack error. The Tars closed out the third set, 25-21.
The Sailfish answered a 6-5 deficit with five straight points, getting consecutive Burlison kills before McIntyre added two aces around a Silcott kill for a 10-6 lead. Burlison achieved a season-high total of five blocks. The Sailfish closed the set from 21-18 with four straight points on
Bergen Waitman's serve, capped by back-to-back Sims kills from Silcott, to take the set 25-18.
The 'Fish broke a 3-3 score with six straight points, getting kills from Burlison and Sims before McIntyre's ace pushed the set to 9-3. RC scored four straight to make it 9-7, but
Erin Guffin answered with a kill and Waitman served the Sailfish to 14-7, including consecutive Corbett kills from Waitman. Waitman recorded a season-high of 12 digs. Sims finished the fifth set with a kill from Silcott for a 15-9 Sailfish win.
Up next, the Sailfish visit Barry on Thursday, Sept. 24, at 7 p.m. in Miami Shores, Fla.
