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Box Score 4 ST. PETERSBURG, FL--The USC Aiken volleyball team (0-4) dropped four matches in the Eckerd College/Holiday Inn Sunspree Resort Tournament over Labor Day weekend. The Lady Pacers fell to Mount Olive 0-3 (13-30, 25-30, 29-31) and Saint Leo 2-3 (16-30, 30-25, 30-28, 25-30, 13-15) on Friday. In two matches on Saturday, USCA dropped a 3-2 decision to Converse (30-19, 20-30, 30-22, 22-30, 14-16) and then a 3-0 match to the host Eckerd Tritions (19-30, 18-30, 19-30). It was the season opening matches for all four teams.
Junior outside hitter
Jenny Lloyd had a solid weekend averaging 4.25 kills per game in the four matches. Reigning Peach Belt Conference Co-Freshman of the Year,
Amy Long, was right behind Lloyd with 62 kills in 16 games for a 3.88 average. Junior
Jessica Lane was the only other Lady Pacer with double digit kills for the tournament. She tallied 31 for a 1.94 per game average.
On Friday, the Lady Pacers opened with a disappointing 3-0 blanking at the hands of the Mount Olive Trojans.
"This was a disappointing loss. We just made too many errors and had poor decision making," said head coach Will Condon. "Our blocking is the catalyst for our team and we did not get that aspect of our game going."
USCA managed 4.0 team blocks and hit .187. Lloyd and Long had 16 and 13 kills respectively.
In the nightcap of Friday's action, the Lady Pacers fell 3-2 to Saint Leo.
"We did everything we needed to do to win, unfortunately the score does not agree," said Condon. "We played hard and fought every point, so this was a victory for this team."
Lloyd registered a career-high 24 kills while Long added 19 kills, but it was not enough for the Lady Pacers who lost after leading 2-1. USCA was able to get their blocking game going with 16.0 team blocks. Newcomers
Brandy Johnson and
Laura Williams had five and six respectively, while Long had a team-high seven and senior
Helena Jantti, who missed the entire 2002 season with an injury, recorded six.
On Saturday, in a matchup with Converse College, USCA again led 2-1 but was unable to close the door, falling in five games for the second-consecutive match.
"This was a very disappointing loss once again. We had our opportunities, but we could not finish," said Condon.
Lloyd led the way with 20 kills hitting .294. She also added three blocks and nine digs. Long tallied 19 kills and a .351 hitting percentage to go with a team-high 13 digs and one blocks. Lane chipped in 11 kills and a team-best six aces.
In the tournament finale, USCA suffered a three-game setback at the hands of the host Tritons of Eckerd College. The Lady Pacers hit just .049, their worst of the tournament, while the Tritons hit a scorching .351. Long was the lone player in double digits in kills with 11 for USCA.
As a team, USCA hit .148 in game one, but a dismal .024 in game two and a .000 in game three. Eckerd out blocked the Lady Pacers 6.0 to 1.0.
USC Aiken will host Presbyterian College on Wednesday, September 3 at 6:00 PM in the team's home opener. It will be fans' lone chance to see the team in action at home before October 1.
