MELBOURNE, FLA. – Florida Tech Volleyball returned to their home court this afternoon, taking on Palm Beach Atlantic in an SSC Match. After a slow start to the match, the Panthers ignited their biggest comeback of the season.
MATCH FOUR: SSC PLAY
Final: Florida Tech Panthers
3, Palm Beach Atlantic Sailfish 2
Set Recap: (17-
25), (16-
25), (
25-19), (
25-22), (
15-3)
Records: Florida Tech (4-8, 2-2 SSC)
| Palm Beach Atlantic Sailfish (9-6, 2-2 SSC)
Location: Clemente Center
| Melbourne, Florida
MATCH NOTES:
First Set: Florida Tech Panthers 17, Palm Beach Atlantic Sailfish 25
- To begin the match, the Sailfish jumping out to an early lead
- Kills from Isabelle Clark and Cordelia Kearns kept the Panthers in the set but the Tech still trailed 7-4.
- After both teams traded points, the Sailfish held a 11-7 lead, but the Panthers rallied to pull themselves within one point.
- Elisa Broggio earned a kill and the Panther front row forced a few PBA errors but Tech was never able to take the lead.
- The Sailfish then sparked two separate 4-1 runs late in the set to pull away and take a 1-0 lead in the match.
Second Set: Florida Tech Panthers 16, Palm Beach Atlantic Sailfish 25
- The second set began similar to the first with PBA jumping out to an early 6-3 lead.
- Tech rallied to pull back within one but then a 5-1 run put the Sailfish up 12-7.
- A kill from Abby Koenen and a solo block from Broggio tried to spark the Panther offense but PBA answered right away.
- Trailing 17-11, Scarlett Kimbrell produced a block and a kill and Ayisha Missipo added a kill but the deficit was to big to overcome as the Sailfish grew their match advantage to 2-0.
Third Set: Florida Tech Panthers 25, Palm Beach Atlantic Sailfish 19
- Needing a response, the Panthers started the third set by taking their first early set lead of the match.
- Cordelia Kearns picked up another kill and a service ace, Isabelle Clark and Abby Koenen also earned kills as Tech led 7-3.
- While the Sailfish responded and pulled within one point, the Panthers never gave up the lead behind more kills form Clark, Kearns and Kimbrell =.
- After PBA earned their first lead of the set, Tech exploded for a 5-0 momentum-swinging run to take a 20-17 lead.
- Following a Sailfish point, Clark picked up two huge back-to-back kills and Kearns and Broggio added two more to put the set away and force a fourth set.
Fourth Set: Florida Tech Panthers 25, Palm Beach Atlantic Sailfish 22
- With the match momentum finally on the Panther side, Tech kicked off the fourth set with eight straight kills to take an early 7-3 lead.
- Koenen, Kimbrell, Clark and Kearns all had at least one kill and Tech continued to roll as the lead grew to 13-6.
- However, PBA answered back with a string of kills of their own and pulled the scoreline to 17-15.
- Clark and Kearns stepped up to put an end to the Sailfish run, earning three straight kills between them to re-extend the lead to 23-19.
- PBA attempted to spark a comeback but Scarlett Kimbrell and Dora Filipovic put the set away and sent the match to a winner-take-all fifth set.
Fifth Set: Florida Tech Panthers 15, Palm Beach Atlantic Sailfish 3
- With a rocking Clemente Center and a fired-up bench behind the Panthers, Tech forced the Sailfish to make three straight errors to begin the final set.
- The Sailfish errors kept coming, and Abby Koenen earned back-to-back kills to grow the Panther lead to 7-2.
- With all the momentum, the Panthers kept their claws on the Sailfish to extend the lead to 13-2.
- After a PBA point, Cordelia Kearns produced a kill and service ace to complete the reverse sweep.
NOTABLE PANTHERS:
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:
- Isabelle Clark (16) and Abby Koenen (12) both set career-highs in kills.
- The Panthers are now 3-0 in five-set matches this season, including 2-0 at home.
- This was the Panthers first reverse sweep at home since 2024 (Lynn, Oct. 4th)
UP NEXT: The Panthers will be back on the road this upcoming weekend. Tech will travel from the Space Coast to the Gulf Coast to face Eckerd on Friday night, then will travel to Saint Leo on Saturday.
For the latest news, updates and information on the Florida Tech Volleyball, visit FloridaTechSports.com. Fans can also stay up-to-date on the latest Panthers news by following Florida Tech Athletics on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
SCHOLARS. LEADERS. CHAMPIONS.
