Box Score GREENWOOD, S.C. – Trailing 14-10 in the fifth set,
Endea Ellison sparked a comeback for the ages as the University of South Carolina Aiken notched a 21-19 win in the deciding set at Lander Wednesday evening in a Peach Belt Conference contest. Set scores were 16-25, 23-25, 25-17, 25-22, 21-19.
The Pacers improve to 13-7 overall and 6-4 against conference competition.
Head coach
Glenn Cox's team was paced by
Taylor Stratton's team-high 16 kills.
Ashley Diedrich registered 13 kills while
Ashley Lind notched 12. Ellison had eight while
Shawn Hotson amassed six.
Amanda Bologna totaled a double-double with 35 assists and 12 digs while
Sheila Walsh narrowly missed a double-double with 20 assists and nine digs.
Hannah Tierney sliced the defense for three of the team's six aces. She also added two blocks while Diedrich had three.
Defensively,
Monica Cardona led all players with a match-high 24 digs.
Katie Toman added 14 while Hotson chipped in 12.
After dropping the first two sets, the Pacers knotted the third frame at 15 apiece on an error by the home team. That miscue sparked an 8-0 run for USC Aiken. After another error by the Bearcats, Diedrich posted two kills while Ellison had one, making it 19-15. Tierney's serve found the court for an ace and a five-point edge. An attack error and two more kills by Diedrich pushed the margin to 23-15 en route to easily securing the 25-17 win.
In the fourth stanza, neither team could gain much of an advantage. However, USC Aiken found itself trailing 17-15. Once again, Ellison sparked the team with a kill off a pass from Bologna. Cardona dropped back to serve and fired up an ace, knotting the score. Cardona and Bologna each found Lind for a kill on the next two possessions and a 19-17 lead.
LU tied the set at 22, but Hotson and Tierney blocked a ball for the first of three straight points en route to the win, forcing a fifth set.
USC Aiken jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the deciding set, only to see the Bearcats take the lead. Cox's team stayed within one for the early portion of the frame, but LU had match point lined up with the score at 14-10.
Bologna found Ellison for a kill, pulling the team within three and forcing a time-out. An attack error by the home team forced LU to call its final time-out of the set. After the time-out, the Bearcats committed two more errors to make it 14-all.
LU went up 15-14, but Stratton slammed home a pass from Bologna to pull even. The teams traded points until the Bearcats went up 18-17. Then, Diedrich stuffed an attack by LU, making it 18-18. The teams traded the next two points, making it 19-19. Walsh then found Diedrich for a thunderous kill, giving the Pacers match point. USC Aiken clinched the match on an attack error.
The Pacers are off until Friday, Oct. 25 at UNC Pembroke. The match is slated to begin at 7 p.m.
