Box Score AIKEN, S.C. – On Senior Day, the University of South Carolina Aiken volleyball program dropped a five-set match to visiting Flagler in a Peach Belt Conference contest. Set scores were 16-25, 25-23, 21-25, 25-19, 12-15.
The Pacers now stand at 12-7 overall and 5-4 against conference competition.
For the match, Aly Johnson and
Leah Rodgers shared team-high honors with 10 kills apiece.
Ashley Lind netted eight while
Ashley Diedrich and
Shawn Hotson had six apiece.
Endea Ellison chipped in four.
Amanda Bologna notched a double-double with 28 assists and 16 digs while
Sheila Walsh narrowly missed a double-double after totaling 15 assists and nine digs.
Danielle Mercer led everyone with 20 digs.
Katie Toman and Hotson accounted for 11 and 10, respectively. At the net, Johnson posted three blocks, two of which were solo stops.
After dropping the first set, head coach
Glenn Cox's team posted a hard fought two-point victory in the second frame. The squad trailed in the early going, but found a way to tie the contest at 13 on an ace by Johnson.
The squads traded points, but an error by the Saints tied the contest again at 16. With the score knotted at 17, USC Aiken scored two straight points, thanks to a miscue by the visitors and a kill by Rodgers, forcing a time-out. Leading 23-22, Diedrich took a pass from Walsh and slammed it to the court for a two-point edge. The teams traded service errors, but Flagler's mistake allowed the home team to win the set.
The Pacers could not sustain the momentum of the win, falling in the third frame. However, Cox's team fought back once again, taking the fourth period.
Trailing 5-2, a couple of errors by the visitors allowed USC Aiken to seize momentum. Later in the set, with the score 7-5 in favor of the Saints, a kill by Rodgers sparked a run. Mercer's ace pulled the team within one and then four straight errors, including one on a block by Johnson, allowed the team to pull ahead by a 15-9 count.
USC Aiken was never seriously threatened the rest of the set and kills from Diedrich and Johnson closed out the frame with the 25-19 victory.
Cox's squad found itself trailing 6-4 in the deciding set, but the team embarked on a 6-2 run due to kills by Walsh and Rodgers, along with one by Johnson. However, the visitors came back and outscored the team 7-2 to secure the win.
The Pacers return to action Wednesday, Oct. 16 at Lander. The match is slated to start at 7 p.m.
