Box Score

AUGUSTA, Ga. - Despite 13 kills from Shannon Byers, the regionally third-ranked University of South Carolina Aiken volleyball team could not hold off rival Augusta State in a 3-1 loss to the Jaguars before a crowd of 786 on Wednesday evening at Christenberry Fieldhouse.

The match opened with USC Aiken taking an early 1-0 lead after the first set via a hard-fought 26-24 victory in the first game. The Jaguars evened the match heading into intermission by earning a 25-18 win in the second set.

Augusta State picked up a 25-20 win in the third game. The Pacers looked as if they would force a decisive game five by taking a three-point lead late in the fourth set.

The Jaguars would then battle back to within one of the Pacers in the fourth set at 24-23, forcing Pacer head coach Glenn Cox to take a time out. The time out would help out the Jaguars more with Augusta State scoring the next three points to take the set and match with a 26-24 win in the fourth set.

The loss to the Jaguars is the seventh consecutive for the Pacers, which are 13-16 overall. USC Aiken dropped to 5-8 in the Peach Belt Conference with the loss to Augusta State on Wednesday. The Jaguars improved to 22-10 overall with the win over USC Aiken. ASU is now 9-5 in the PBC in 2009.

Byers (Morristown, Minn./Faribault) was the only Pacer to record double-digit kills in the match. Lauren Cedeno (Jacksonville, Fla./Bishop Kenny) paced the USC Aiken attack in the match, accumulating a season-best 46 assists in the match.

Pacer libero Samantha Lukralle (Lindenhurst, N.Y./Lindenhurst) led the Pacers in total digs with 20.

Peach Belt Conference Player of the Year candidate Jessica Howard guided the Jaguars in the win with 22 kills.

USC Aiken will next finish its week with a unique road doubleheader in Montevallo, Ala. on Friday, Nov. 6. The Pacers will first play a PBC match against Montevallo before closing their day by tangling with non-conference foe Miles immediately after the Montevallo match.