BANNER ELK, N.C. – The University of South Carolina Aiken volleyball team claimed victory in both of its matches on the final day of the Lees-McRae Tournament at Williams Gymnasium.

USC Aiken opened Saturday with a thrilling 3-2 (25-20, 24-26, 19-25, 25-22, 15-7) win over host Lees-McRae. The Pacers then closed their efforts out in the tournament with a dominating 3-0 (25-11, 25-21, 25-16) win over North Greenville.

The two wins on Saturday moved the Pacers above .500 for the first time in the 2012 season. USC Aiken is now 6-5 on the year.

The Pacers will next travel to Charlotte, N.C. to play in the Johnson C. Smith Tournament on Friday, Sept. 21 and Saturday, Sept. 22. USC Aiken will open the tournament with a 1 p.m. match against Johnson C. Smith on Friday, Sept. 21.

The Pacers will close the tournament with two matches on Saturday, Sept. 22. USC Aiken will first face tournament host Johnson C. Smith at 11 a.m. The Pacers will conclude the tournament with a 1 p.m. match against St. Augustine's.

Match One – USC Aiken 3, Lees-McRae 2 (25-20, 24-26, 19-25, 25-22, 15-7)

USC Aiken opened its win over host Lees-McRae by taking a relatively easy 25-20 win in the first set.

Lees-McRae (3-5) would then earn a hard fought 26-24 win in the second game to change the complexion of the match. Lees-McRae would pick up a 25-19 win in the third set to own a 2-1 lead in the match entering the fourth set.

USC Aiken took a 25-22 win in the fourth set to even things up at 2-2.

In the decisive fifth set, the Pacers pulled ahead 10-3 before emerging with a 15-7 victory.

The Pacers concluded the win over Lees-McRae hitting .198 as a team. Lees-McRae hit .200 as a team in its loss to USC Aiken. The Pacers owned 7-5 total team block advantage.

Shannon Byers (Morristown, Minn./Faribault HS) claimed her second straight double-double in the win over Lees-McRae, ending her efforts with a team-best 11 kills to go along with 10 digs.

Claire Patten (Boulder, Colo./Mercer) finished the win over Lees-McRae with a match-high 24 digs.

Alex Petock (Woodbridge, Va. / Woodbridge HS) facilitated the Pacer attack with a team-best 17 assists.

Three Lees-McRae players claimed double-figure kills with Taylor Clendenin leading the way with a match-high 20. She added 11 digs to acquire a double-double of her own.

Match Two – USC Aiken 3, North Greenville 0 (25-11, 25-21, 25-16)

USC Aiken closed out the Lees-McRae Tournament by easily disposing of North Greenville, 3-0. The victory over North Greenville was the Pacers' second over the Crusaders in eight days. USC Aiken also downed North Greenville 3-1 on Sept. 7 at the USC Aiken Volleyball Invitational.

USC Aiken opened its win Saturday over North Greenville (5-7) by claiming a 25-11 win in the first set. North Greenville battled the Pacers in the second game, but USC Aiken was able to hold off the Crusaders' advances in a 25-21 win. The Pacers closed out their 3-0 blanking of North Greenville with a 25-16 win in the third set.

The Pacers concluded the victory over North Greenville hitting .189 as a team. North Greenville hit just .065 in the loss to the Pacers. USC Aiken owned an 11-3 total team block advantage.

USC Aiken's Leah Rodgers (Longwood, Fla./Lake Mary HS) tied for the match-high with 10 kills. Petock once again paced USC Aiken with 22 assists.

Byers led the Pacers with 13 digs, while Patten collected 11 digs in the Pacer win over North Greenville.

Hannah Tierney (Winchester, Va./James Wood HS) and Ashley Diedrich (Orlando, Fla./Dr. Phillips HS) both closed out the win with six blocks each.

North Greenville's Rebekah Mayes tied Rodgers for the match-high with 10 kills.