Lynn University volleyball handed Palm Beach Atlantic University its first loss of the season with a three-set, 25-23, 25-18, 25-16 victory Saturday afternoon at the Sailfish's Rubin Arena. Senior Katie Bradley led the Knights with a double-double, going for 18 kills and 13 digs for 20.5 points. Sophomore Chelsea Semprini also had 13 kills, while senior Lacy Redwine had a three-set record, 35 digs, just one off the Lynn single-match record.
LU took the first set off the shoulders of Bradley and Semprini who had eight kills apiece. Redwine also had a whopping 21 digs in the opening stanza as the Knights out hit the Sailfish, .293 to .208.
The Blue & White took control of the opening set early, jumping out to a 13-8 lead, forcing PBA to call a timeout. The Sailfish would then go on a 7-4 run, prompting Lynn to call its first timeout of the set. The Knights seemed to respond after the break, as senior Mallory Deneen smacked an ace and Bradley recorded three kills. After one last run by Palm Beach Atlantic, Lynn called another timeout and Semprini finished out the game with a kill.
After the Knights took the early lead in the second set, PBA went on a 5-0 run to take an 11-9 advantage, prompting Lynn to use a timeout. Similar to the opening set, the Blue & White responded with five straight points of their own. The Sailfish took their first timeout of the frame and scored two quick points, but two kills from Deneen led to another PBA timeout. From there, Lynn cruised to the victory behind three more kills by Bradley.
Bradley had five kills in the set to lead the Knights as Lynn outhit the Sailfish, .250 to .154 in the second session. Lynn also picked up the defense even more as Redwine recorded another six digs and Haley Pratt added a pair of blocks.
The Fighting Knights jumped out early in the final set to take a 9-3 advantage as PBA called a timeout to try to stop the bleeding. However, the Sailfish would not get any closer than 15-11 as Lynn cruised to the victory.
For the match, Lynn outhit PBA, .269 to .149, had 47 kills compared to just 35 for the Sailfish and recorded six aces to just two for PBA.
With the win, Lynn improves to 9-4 overall, while Palm Beach Atlantic falls to 11-1.
The Fighting Knights return to action on Friday, October 1, at 7 p.m. when they travel to SSC rival Tampa. The following day, Lynn will take on Eckerd at 4:00 pm. Fans can follow the action live by logging on to www.LynnFightingKnights.com and selecting the "Game Central" icon.
