AIKEN, S.C. – The University of South Carolina Aiken volleyball team claimed two 3-0 victories on Saturday afternoon at the Convocation Center.
USC Aiken (13-5, 3-0 PBC) opened its day with a 3-0 (25-14, 25-17, 25-20) Peach Belt Conference victory over Francis Marion. The Pacers closed out their day with a 3-0 (25-14, 25-13, 25-18) victory over Clark Atlanta.
The Pacers have now won nine straight matches.
The two matches on Saturday were the Pacers' final home matches for almost one month as the Pacers will not return home until Friday, Oct. 26.
USC Aiken begins what will be a six-match road swing with two matches in Montevallo, Ala. on Saturday, Oct. 6. The Pacers will play league foe Montevallo first at 1 p.m. They will then square off with Alabama Huntsville at 3 p.m. The Alabama Huntsville match is USC Aiken's final non-conference match of the season.
Match One – USC Aiken 3, Francis Marion 0 (25-14, 25-17. 25-20)
The Pacers remained perfect in the Peach Belt Conference with a 3-0 (25-14, 25-17, 25-20) victory over Francis Marion.
USC Aiken dominated the match, hitting .228 as a team. Francis Marion (9-5, 1-2 PBC) hit .136 as a team in its loss to the Pacers.
The Patriots held a 5-3 total team block advantage over the Pacers in the match.
Shannon Byers (Morristown, Minn./Faribault HS) led the Pacers in the win over Francis Marion, ending her efforts in the Pacer win with 13 kills and eight digs. She was the only Pacer with double-digit kills in the match.
Samantha Lukralle (Lindenhurst, N.Y./Lindenhurst HS) was the only Pacer to secure double-digit digs in the match, finishing with a match-best 22 digs.
Sheila Walsh (Fort Mill, S.C./Nation Ford HS) and Ashley Farwell (Wake Forest, N.C./Wake Forest-Rolesville HS) facilitated the Pacer attack. Walsh claimed 19 assists, while Farwell had 17 assists in the match.
Ashley Diedrich (Orlando, Fla./Dr. Phillips HS) led the Pacers with four service aces. She also had eight kills and seven digs.
Megan Mooney was the top performer for Francis Marion in its loss with 11 kills.
Match Two – USC Aiken 3, Clark Atlanta 0 (25-14, 25-13, 25-18)
USC Aiken dominated from start-to-finish in the victory over Clark Atlanta (10-9).
The Pacers closed out the match hitting .402 as a team. The Pacer defense held Clark Atlanta to .195 hitting as a team.
Diedrich was the only Pacer to record double-digit kills in the win over Clark Atlanta. She ended the match with 14 kills.
Two Pacers claimed double-digit digs in the win with Leah Rodgers (Longwood, Fla./Lake Mary HS) acquiring 10 and Lukralle leading the way for USC Aiken once again with 12 digs. Lukralle also had three service aces.
Three Pacers collected double-digit assists. Walsh led the Pacers in the category once again with 16, but Alex Petock (Woodbridge, Va./Woodbridge HS) added 13 and Farwell finished with 11 assists.
Ashley Brooks led the way for Clark Atlanta with 11 kills.
