PEMBROKE, N.C. – The University of South Carolina Aiken Volleyball team fell 3-0 (25-21, 25-19, 25-20) to UNC Pembroke in its Peach Belt Conference opener on Friday evening at the English E. Jones Center.

USC Aiken (5-9, 0-1 PBC) was led in the match by Shannon Byers (Morristown, Minn./Faribault) and Claire Patten (Boulder, Colo./Mercer), who both recorded double-digit digs in the Pacer loss. Byers acquired 14 digs to go along with five kills, while Patten finished with 10 digs. Patten also had two service aces in the match.

Leah Rodgers (Longwood, Fla./Lake Mary) finished with the most Pacer kills in the match with six.

The Pacers out-blocked UNC Pembroke, 10-5, with Hannah Tierney (Winchester, Va./James Wood) leading the way for USC Aiken with six blocks.

Hannah Hill (13) and Rebecca Morgan (11) both claimed double-digit kills in the match for UNC Pembroke (7-7, 1-0 PBC).

UNC Pembroke's Marissa Baker led all in the match with 18 digs.

The Pacers will next travel to Florence, S.C. tomorrow (Saturday, Sept. 24) for a 2 p.m. match against Francis Marion. Follow all the action live on USC Aiken's official athletic website at www.PacerSports.com.