WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – In a match that featured 35 ties and 17 lead changes, No. 17 (AVCA Division II Top 25) Palm Beach Atlantic University was able to hold off Flagler College for a 3-1 (25-22, 19-25, 25-16, 25-21) victory Saturday night at Rubin Arena.
Palm Beach Atlantic extended its winning streak to seven matches and improved to 7-3 overall. Flagler dropped to 4-4.
Ally Rohn recorded a double-double for the Sailfish with a match-high 21 kills and added 20 digs. Sarah Ragland added 10 kills and six total blocks while Olivia Finckel chipped in with 10 kills. Molly Burkhardt, the younger sister of former Flagler star Justine (Burkhardt) Cronk, also recorded a double-double with 44 assists and 19 digs. Susie Forbes collected 20 digs.
PBA recorded 10 total team blocks and also hit .371 with 17 kills on 35 swings in the third set.
Sara Davis led the Saints with 12 kills and four block assists.
Genel Sturgeon and
Ashley Cheewah each added nine kills and four total blocks.
Tara Savisky recorded her fifth double-double of the season with 26 assists and 15 digs.
Rachel Porada collected a match-high 21 digs while
Megan Hooks tacked on nine kills.
Kayla Norelli tallied 18 digs and four service aces.
The Saints finished with nine total team blocks.
Both teams secured wins in the first two sets, but the Sailfish took the third set on the strength of a 4-1 run midway through to take a 13-10 lead. PBA won the set 25-16.
Both offenses struggled in the third set as the Sailfish hit .034 (13 kills, 11 errors, 58 swings) while the Saints hit -.057 (6 kills, 9 errors, 53 swings). Defensively, PBA had seven total team blocks while Flagler had five.
Flagler went on a 5-0 run to take a 15-10 lead thanks to a pair of aces from Norelli. However, Palm Beach Atlantic rallied back to tie the set and closed the match by scoring the last four points of the set. Ragland scored three of those points thanks to two total blocks and a kill.
Flagler opens Peach Belt Conference action next weekend (Sept. 23 and 24) with Lander University and the University of South Carolina Aiken visiting Flagler Gymnasium. The Lander match starts at 7 p.m. on Friday.
