AIKEN, S.C. – The University of South Carolina Aiken volleyball team split two matches at the Convocation Center on Saturday, Oct. 8
USC Aiken (9-12, 3-4 PBC) opened its day by narrowly upsetting national No. 17 Armstrong Atlantic State (20-0, 7-0 PBC). The Pirates would in the end hold off the Pacers, 3-2 (16-25, 25-17, 29-27, 21-25, 15-12).
The Pacers would bounce back in the nightcap, besting non-conference foe Bentley, 3-1 (21-25, 25-21, 25-14, 25-21).
The two Pacer matches were part of three matches on the day at the Convocation Center as Armstrong easily dispatched of Bentley (8-10), 3-0 (25-18, 25-11, 25-7), in the second match of the day at the Convocation Center.
USC Aiken will next travel to Montevallo, Ala. for its second match of the year against league rival Montevallo. The Pacers bested Montevallo, 3-1, at the Convocation Center on Saturday, Oct. 1.
USC Aiken and Montevallo will renew their league rivalry at 6 p.m. EST on Wednesday, Oct. 12.
#17 Armstrong 3, USC Aiken 2
The Pacers started the narrow loss to Armstrong strongly, winning the first set easily, 25-16. The Pirates would seem to take advantage in the next two games to earn a 2-1 advantage going into the fourth set.
The Pacers were undaunted though as they claimed a 25-21 win in the fourth set to set up a decisive game five. Armstrong would hold off the Pacer advances in the end as they collected a 15-12 in the final set to stay perfect in the 2011 season.
USC Aiken ended the match hitting better than Armstrong (.116) at .154. The Pacers had three more team blocks (13-10) than Armstrong.
Shannon Byers (Morristown, Minn./Faribault) led the Pacer charge in the heartbreaking loss to Armstrong, finishing with 16 kills and 10 digs.
Leah Rodgers (Longwood, Fla./Lake Mary) was the only other Pacer to acquire double-digit kills in the Armstrong match as she finished with 12.
Samantha Lukralle (Lindenhurst, N.Y./Lindenhurst) claimed a match-high 25 digs, while Ashley Farwell (Wake Forest, N.C./Wake Forest-Rolesville) helmed the Pacer offense with 28 assists.
Leia Pittman and Jessica Santaniello guided the Pirate voyage to victory with each ending the match with 12 kills.
Ashley Seal had 39 assists for the Pirates in the match, while Casey Howett led three Pirates with double-digit digs with 15.
USC Aiken 3, Bentley 1
USC Aiken dropped the first set to Bentley, but rebounded emphatically by easily winning the next three sets to claim the 3-1 match victory.
USC Aiken concluded the win over Bentley hitting .259 as a team. Bentley hit .188 in the match. The Pacers owned a 10-3 advantage in total team blocks.
Rodgers and Byers once again led the Pacers in the Bentley match with Rodgers leading the way with a team-high 13 kills. Byers added 10 to go along with 14 digs.
Jessica Loper (McDonough, Ga./Eagles Landing Christian) claimed nine kills and eight blocks in the Pacer victory.
Lukralle ended things with a match-high 15 digs. Farwell once again led the Pacers in assists with 20.
Kelsey Buckner led the Falcons in their loss to the Pacers with 14 kills. Lauren Colasanti ended the match with 12 digs.
