WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Facing a tough team on the road, the Nova Southeastern University volleyball team (16-10) suffered a 3-0 loss to the No. 14 Palm Beach Atlantic Sailfish (22-3) on Tuesday night at the Rubin Arena. The Sharks lost by set scores of 25-17, 25-20, 25-21.
Coming into the Tuesday night matchup, the Sharks were riding high after picking up back-to-back Sunshine State Conference wins over No. 17 Florida Southern and Florida Tech. However, NSU ran into a roadblock facing the 14th-ranked Sailfish and dropped a three set affair on the road.
NSU jumped out early in the opening set and led by as many as five at one point. But the Sailfish mounted a comeback and went on a 6-1 scoring run that tied the score at 10-10. After taking the next point and the lead, PBA continued to extend their lead and outscored the Sharks 15-7 down the stretch to take the opening set 25-17.
In the second set, the Sailfish exploded out of the gates and ran the score up to a 13-6 lead to start the frame. However, NSU went on a 7-2 scoring run to cut into the PBA lead and trailed by only two, 15-13 forcing Palm Beach Atlantic into a timeout. Coming out the break, the Sailfish scored the next point and maintained a comfortable lead the remainder of the set winning 25-20 and took a 2-0 lead in the match.
In the third and final set, PBA never led by more than four points the entire time. The Sharks continued to fight until then end and even came to within one point at 18-17, but the Sailfish overpowered NSU's attempt at a comeback and took the final set 25-21 and took the match 3-0.
It was a night where the Sharks struggled to get much momentum offensively as Palm Beach Atlantic held all NSU hitters to under double-digits in kills for the match. However, Denvyr Tyler-Palmer (Fr., Jacksonville, Fla.) led the team with nine kills and finished with the double-double after adding 10 digs. Sydney Cook (Sr., Miami, Fla.) led the team with 18 digs, while Megan Burns (Fr., Sylvania, Ohio) finished with 12 digs.
The Sharks will return to action this weekend for a two-match road trip. NSU will face Embry Riddle on Friday at 7 p.m. followed by a 4 p.m. match on Saturday at Rollins.
