WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Kentucky State fell 3-0 to top-seeded Palm Beach Atlantic in NCAA Division II Volleyball Tournament action on Thursday, wrapping up one of the program's most successful seasons.

Despite the loss, the Thorobrettes had a season to be proud of, finishing the year with a 25-13 overall record, their fourth Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship in six years, and their fourth trip to the NCAA Tournament in the same span. Along the way, Kentucky State rolled through SIAC competition with a 19-1 regular season record while dropping just one set over four wins in the conference tournament.

Thursday's match did not play out in the way most of the Thorobrettes' matches had this season. They lost the first set 25-16 to the Sailfish, who came in ranked ninth nationally in the AVCA Coaches' Poll and first in the South Region, then dropped the second set by the score of 25-9. Kentucky State was competitive in the third set, but Palm Beach Atlantic was able to pull it out 25-17.  

"The second set was pretty rough for us," said Kentucky State head coach Christina Coleman, who was named SIAC Coach of the Year this season. "But as far as the third set, we were able to get some things going on defense, we started rotating some people in, and they stepped up. (The result) was unfortunate, but we fought back."

Due to conditions in the gymnasium, the match was delayed approximately two hours from the scheduled start time of 7:30 p.m. Though it may have been a distraction, Coleman added that the delay was not an excuse.  

"We never really got going and playing our style of volleyball," said Coleman. "The delay kind of got us out of sync, because the girls were ready to go. We're not making excuses, but we just never got a rhythm going throughout the match like we typically do."

Micah Rogers led Kentucky State with eight kills, while Tahje Ochs added five. Anjelique Kyle led the team with 13 assists and two aces, while Kiara Rivera had 16 digs. Palm Beach Atlantic's Ally Rohn led all players with 12 kills with a .476 hitting percentage.

"It's just reassurance that I'm part of a good team, and I'm proud of my teammates for getting back to the NCAA Tournament," said Rogers, who is one of the upperclassmen who played in the 2014 NCAA Tournament and was part of the 2015 team that finished as SIAC runners-up. "It feels good that I could be a part of taking my team back to the tournament."

Despite the loss, Coleman is optimistic about the future of her team, which loses just one starter to graduation in SIAC Defensive Player of the Year Kiara Rivera.
"I think it means that great things are ahead of us," Coleman finished. "I'm going to hit the recruiting trail hard to try to bring some players in to replace the seniors and get stronger in key spots. Hopefully we can bring in some game changers to help us in the areas where we need help."

Palm Beach Atlantic (27-4) advances to face fourth-seeded St. Leo in a regional semifinal on Friday.