Box Score AIKEN, SC--Junior
Jenny Lloyd had a career-night with 36 kills as the USC Aiken Lady Pacers (8-9, 3-0 PBC) remained unbeaten in Peach Belt Conference play with a hard fought 3-1 (37-39, 30-27, 30-28, 35-33) win over arch rival Augusta State (9-8, 2-1 PBC) on Wednesday night at "The Courthouse". USCA extended its winning streak in the series to six matches and is now 21-5 all-time versus ASU. The 3-0 start in conference play is the best for the Lady Pacers since the 1997 squad opened 7-0.
Lloyd, who was hampered much of her sophomore season with injuries, entered tonight's match leading the conference and ranking 16th in Division II in kills per game at 4.68. What she turned in was a performance never before witnessed in PBC play. The Fife, WA native rang up 36 kills, not only a school record, but the highest total ever recorded in a conference match. Two higher totals have been recorded in non-conference competition. It was also the second match this season in which Lloyd surpassed the 30-kill plateau.
Play was tight throughout the four-game battle. In the opening game, USC Aiken dominated play early pushing out to 7-1 lead and then a 9-2 edge. Augusta State, however, responded on the serve of freshman Kaila White. The 5-9 Round Rock, TX product served up three-straight aces as ASU pulled within three at 9-6. Another ace by White capped a three-point spurt and drew the Lady Jags within two at 16-14.
The best point of the night came with the Lady Pacers holding a slim 22-20 advantage. A lengthy rally finally came to an end on a block by senior
Helena Jantti and sophomore
Rachel Dalitz to extend USCA's lead to 23-20. Trailing 26-21, it was again the serve of White that ignited the Lady Jags. They reeled off seven straight points, with the last one giving them their first lead at 27-26.
USCA would have the chance to serve for the match at 29-27 but could not convert. An ace by ASU's Aja Roundtree tied the game at 30-30. ASU would have seven chances to serve for the game, but the Lady Pacers kept staying alive. On the eighth attempt, ASU converted to take the win 39-37.
Game two was the mirror opposite of game one. The Lady Jags charged ahead to a 10-5 lead, but a
Jessica Lane ace, one of six on the night, knotted the game up at 12-12. From that point on, no one could pull ahead by more than two points until USCA went on a 7-1 run to take command 28-20. ASU drew within 29-27, but the Lady Pacers took game two 30-27.
In game three, the Lady Pacers took an early 8-2 lead, again had to hold off a late ASU rally to win 30-28.
In the fourth and final game, the two teams were tied at 8-8, 15-15, and again at 27-27. Down by one, sophomore
Amy Long had a big solo block to tie it at 27-27 and give USCA some late momentum. Long combined with freshman
Laura Williams and Lane on two more blocks while Lloyd's 36th kill of the night game USCA the game and match 35-33.
Long, last year's PBC Freshman of the Year, had 20 kills to go with 20 digs and five blocks. Lane finished with seven kills and 15 digs. Lloyd added 16 digs and two blocks to her record kill total. Freshman
Cheryl Barcas came off the bench for a career-high 39 assists.
White led the Lady Jags with 15 kills and 17 digs. Katie DeGreeff added 14 kills, 15 digs, and five blocks while Cassie Zahn chipped in 13 kills, 15 digs, and seven blocks. As a team, ASU out blocked the Lady Pacers 14.0 to 12.0, but hit .167 to USCA's .226. USCA collected five more service aces than ASU.
USC Aiken will host Lander on Friday, October 3 at 7:00 PM at "The Courthouse" in another Peach Belt Conference showdown. Augusta State hosts USC Spartanburg in a PBC match also on Friday at 7:00 PM at the ASU Sports Complex.
