No. 12 Sailfish Extend Streak with Sweep of Tritons

Box Score ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Eckerd volleyball team hung close in the first set but couldn't find an answer to the attack of No. 12 Palm Beach Atlantic for the rest of the match, falling to the Sailfish in straight sets (22-25, 15-25, 16-25) on Saturday afternoon.

Things started off well for Eckerd, which led for the majority of the first set and held a late 22-20 advantage behind strong offensive performances from Kali Boatwright and JaQuayla Baker.

However, PBA (21-3) took the final five points of the set, aided by three EC errors, to complete the comeback for a 1-0 match lead.

The second set was also closely contested early on, with EC twice overcoming a three-point deficit.  A run of three straight Triton points tied the set at 8-8 following a solo block by Stephanie Karlovics.

From that point on, the day belonged to PBA.

The Sailfish won points on six of the next seven rallies and later continued to pad their lead with a pair of three-point runs before finishing a 25-15 set win.  PBA hit .417 in the set with 18 kills and only three errors while limiting EC, which hit .278 in the opening set, to just seven kills and a .057 hitting percentage.

Palm Beach Atlantic never trailed in the third set, taking three of the first four points before running off four straight points for a 9-4 lead.  The Tritons (15-8) were never able to cut the deficit below four points for the remainder of the set as PBA was again efficient on the attack, hitting .387 in the frame.

The win for the Sailfish was their 21st consecutive victory.

Eckerd was led by Boatwright with 12 kills.  Kaitlyn Sibson had an outstanding defensive effort with 19 digs.

The Tritons face an important five days of conference play next week, beginning with a trip to SSC leader Saint Leo on Tuesday at 7:00 PM.