Eagles Drop Third Straight

KISSIMMEE, Fla. – After taking the first set against the top seed in pool B Asbury was unable to pull off the upset, falling to Palm Beach Atlantic 3-1, 26-28, 25-21, 25-23, 25-20.  Palm Beach had not dropped a set in the tournament or allowed an opponent to reach 20 points in a single set before Asbury broke 20 in all four sets.

The Eagles (42-10) would run right along the Sailfish (30-3) is the first set as neither team would lead by more that three points.  Palm Beach would record 16 kills to Asbury’s nine, but 11 attack errors by the Sailfish allowed the Eagles to hang around. 

In the second set Palm Beach would take an early lead as the Eagles fought their way back out of a 20-12 hole to close to 21-20.  In the third the roles would be reversed as Asbury took an early 10-6 lead before Palm Beach closed to tie it at 16.

Allison Rehner would lead Asbury with 12 kills as the team recorded only 39 in the match.  Mariela Quesada led Palm Beach with 16 kills as the Sailfish registered 53 in the match.  Kelly Cole would dig up 29 balls, just missing reaching 30 digs in three straight matches.  The teams combined to make 25 service errors in the match. 

Asbury would record 11 total blocks in the match, highlighted by Dena Busse's two solo and four assisted blocks.  Rehner would also add four block assists and Lindsay Ibold had one solo and three assisted.  Palm Beach would register 10 total blocks led by Lanae Robinson's two solo and four assisted.

The Eagles will conclude their stay at the NCCAA National Tournament with their final pool play match against Dallas Baptist at 2 p.m.