Box Score COLUMBUS, Ga. – The University of South Carolina Aiken volleyball team dropped a hard fought 3-2 match at Columbus State Saturday. Set scores were 25-22, 25-23, 18-25, 23-25, 10-25.

The Pacers are now 17-10 overall and 9-7 against conference competition.

In the first set, the Pacers found themselves in a close one, but pulled ahead after it was tied at six on a kill by Endea Ellison. That kill sparked a 7-4 run that gave head coach Glenn Cox's team some breathing room.

With the score at 23-21 in favor of USC Aiken, Taylor Stratton and Ashley Lind each posted a kill, securing the 25-22 first set victory.

In the second stanza, Cox's team found itself trailing 5-1, but a service error made it a 5-2 contest. Aly Johnson promptly dropped back to serve and confused the defense on back-to-back plays, registering two aces.

The Cougars maintained a three-point edge at 19-16, but a time-out by the Pacers allowed the team to regain momentum. USC Aiken tied the set after blocks by Ashley Diedrich and two by Johnson.

Columbus State regained a 21-20 lead, but an error tied it once again. Three kills by Stratton and a miscue by the home team allowed the Pacers to pick up the 25-23 victory for the set.

After dropping the next two sets, including an extremely close contest in the fourth frame, the team went into a deciding fifth set.

The Pacers took an early 2-1 lead thanks in part to two miscues by the Cougars, but Columbus State rallied for a 7-5 lead. Stratton took a pass from Sheila Walsh for a kill, but it was as close as the team would get the rest of the way.

The home team slowly widened the gap until pulling out a 15-10 victory.

For the match, Ellison posted a team-high 13 kills while hitting .423. Stratton added nine kills while Johnson pounded home eight. Ashley Diedrich and Lind had six kills apiece.

Amanda Bologna registered 23 assists and eight digs while Walsh totaled 16 assists.

Defensively, Monica Cardona led the way with 25 digs while Katie Toman and Danielle Mercer had nine and six, respectively.

The Pacers return to action on Friday, Nov. 15 at 7 p.m. when they hit the road for a match at Flagler.