MELBOURNE, Fla. — Palm Beach Atlantic lost to Florida Tech 3-2 on Saturday, falling 25-17, 25-16, 19-25, 22-25, 3-15 at the Clemente Center.
The Sailfish won the first two sets before Florida Tech took the final three. PBA finished with a season-high 65 kills and a season-high 101 digs, while Tech hit .273 and had 10 total blocks.
"Sofia [Augusto] was awesome for us and it was great to have Kelsey [Rogers] back," PBA head coach Jeff Huebner said. "We did some awesome things but we are still solving how to put it all together in the fullness of a match. We're looking forward to being at home this week and seeing the 'Fish Tank."
Juliana Imbuzeiro finished with a season-high 54 assists, 10 digs, six kills and two blocks.
Sofia Augusto collected a season-high 34 digs and added five assists.
Sydney Corbett recorded 15 kills.
Ava McIntyre tallied 11 kills, a season-high 19 digs, three aces and 15 points.
Lexi Berry also recorded a season-high of 17 digs.
The Sailfish created the separation late in the first set, moving from a 19-15 lead to 24-16 behind a block by McIntyre and
Kaelynn Sims and three kills from McIntyre. Florida Tech won the next rally, but
Kelsey Rogers finished the set with a kill from Imbuzeiro for a 25-17 Sailfish win.
The Sailfish separated in the second set after a 12-9 score, taking four straight points on a Corbett kill, a Panther attack error, and kills from
Brighten Sedmack and Sims for a 16-9 lead. The Sailfish later moved from 18-12 to 21-12 on a McIntyre ace and kills by
Kelsey Rogers and Sedmack, then finished the set 25-16 on Imbuzeiro's kill from McIntyre.
The Sailfish turned a 15-12 deficit into a 17-15 lead in the third set, with McIntyre contributing a kill and a service ace while Imbuzeiro and
Kelsey Rogers added kills during the surge. Florida Tech answered with five straight points to go back ahead 20-17, and despite late kills from
Lauren Venenga and Imbuzeiro, the Sailfish dropped the set 25-19.
The Sailfish rallied from a 13-6 deficit in the fourth set, cutting Florida Tech's lead to 15-13 after a
Leah Burlison kill and a Florida Tech set error. The Sailfish stayed within range later, getting as close as 16-15 on a Corbett kill and again pulling within two at 24-22 on Burlison's kill. Florida Tech finished the set with the next point for a 25-22 result.
The Sailfish got within 3-2 in the fifth set on
Simi Kapustova's kill, but Florida Tech answered with 10 straight points.
Nae Jordan later put down a kill from Imbuzeiro, but Florida Tech closed the set 15-3.
Up next, the Sailfish volleyball team hosts Florida Southern on Thursday, Oct. 1, at 6 p.m. at Rubin Arena.
