DENVER, Colo. — The Palm Beach Atlantic volleyball team had mixed results during the Colorado Premier Challenge, defeating Lewis 3-1 and falling to Concordia-St. Paul 3-0.
"We played really well today against two great teams," PBA head coach
Jeff Huebner said. "Our program learns and improves so fast, and we continue to see great volleyball play. Juliana and Katie ran incredibly efficient offense against great blockers and were terrific leaders for us today. I was really impressed with Kaelynn and Brighten in their versatility for us. Unfortunately we just could not find enough defense against CSP to slow them down, despite serving and hitting really well. Can't wait to play again tomorrow and we are so grateful for this opportunity."
Although every team in PBA's pool went 1-1, the 'Fish finished third after tiebreakers. The Sailfish are set to take on Bentley in a bronze bracket match at 11 a.m. with the winner of that match facing off against the winner of Regis and Anderson.
Match One - PBA: 3, Lewis: 0
In the first match against Lewis, the Sailfish won with set scores of 25-11, 15-25, 25-22, 25-23. The Sailfish took the final two sets by three and two points after Lewis evened the match in the second set. PBA finished with 52 kills, seven service aces, and no receiving errors, while Lewis totaled 41 kills and no aces.
Brighten Sedmack led the Sailfish with 17 kills while hitting .364.
Juliana Imbuzeiro recorded a team-high 23 assists and added four digs.
Sofia Augusto collected a team-high 16 digs and contributed three assists.
Renee Direny posted five total blocks, including two solo blocks, and added five kills.
The Sailfish broke open the first set by winning seven of eight rallies from 13-8 to 20-9, with
Sydney Corbett adding a kill and back-to-back aces during the stretch. Sedmack supplied three late kills as the 'Fish finished the set 25-11.
In the second set, the Sailfish spent the period chasing after Lewis built a 7-1 lead.
Kaelynn Sims stopped the first run with a kill, and the 'Fish added points on consecutive Lewis errors to get to 7-4. However, Lewis maintained their lead, taking the set 25-15.
The third set featured a strong comeback from PBA, as Imbuzeiro served through a four-point stretch that included kills by Sedmack and Corbett. After tying the set at 21-21, the Sailfish won four of the next five points to take the set 25-22, with
Simi Kapustova contributing on back-to-back blocks before Sedmack finished it with a kill assisted by
Katie Silcott.
The 'Fish opened the fourth set with a 7-2 lead behind kills from Direny, McIntyre, and Sedmack, plus a block by Direny. After a tie at 23-23, Sedmack's kill from Silcott and an ace from
Ava McIntyre sealed the set 25-23. Despite being outhit slightly, PBA made up for it by taking seven points from aces and displayed stellar serve receive, not allowing an ace in the match.
Match Two - No. 3 CSP: 3, PBA: 0
In their next match against Concordia-St. Paul, the Sailfish lost with set scores of 21-25, 23-25, and 31-33. Concordia-St. Paul entered the match ranked No. 3 in the AVCA top 25. The Sailfish pushed the final set past 30 points after dropping the first two sets by four and two points. PBA finished with 53 kills, a .281 hitting percentage, and 53 digs, while Concordia-St. Paul hit .377 with 54 kills. The 53 kills marked a season high for the Sailfish.
Sydney Corbett led the Sailfish with a season-high 21 kills and added seven digs.
Sofia Augusto posted a team-high 18 digs and contributed five assists.
Katie Silcott finished with a season-high 23 assists and nine digs, while
Kaelynn Sims added nine kills on a .333 hitting percentage, three block assists, and an ace.
In the first set, the Sailfish erased a 7-4 deficit and moved in front 9-8, with kills from
Simi Kapustova and Corbett. Despite being tied at 15-15, Concordia-St. Paul moved ahead 22-17 and took the set 25-21.
In the second set, PBA erased an early deficit behind
Ava McIntyre's service turn, getting an ace and kills from Kapustova and Corbett to lead 8-6. They fought back from a 21-17 deficit, with key kills to tie it at 22. However, Concordia-St. Paul scored the final two points to take the set 25-23.
The third set saw the Sailfish turn a 12-9 deficit into a 14-13 lead, using kills from Direny, McIntyre, and Sedmack along with a block. Corbett kept the Sailfish in front late, producing crucial kills for 24-23, 29-28, 30-29, and 31-30 advantages. Yet, Concordia-St. Paul answered with three straight points to take the third set 33-31.
