Box Score AIKEN, S.C. – The University of South Carolina Aiken volleyball team lost its third straight five-set match, falling 3-2 to Francis Marion Friday evening in front of an outstanding crowd. Set scores were 28-30, 15-25, 25-21, 25-16, 13-15.
The Pacers drop to 6-4, 1-1 on the season.
After losing the first two sets, the squad put forth an outstanding comeback attempt, forcing a fifth set and pushing the Patriots to the brink, but came up just short.
In the opening set, the teams put forth a tremendous all-around effort. Neither team led by more than five – as USC Aiken did at 14-9. FMU fought back, knotting the score at 17 before eventually taking a 23-19 lead on an ace. However, the Pacers fought back.
Trailing by four, an error by Caroline Boone gave the ball back to the home squad.
Ashley Diedrich then slammed home a pass from
Amanda Bologna to pull within two and force a time-out by the Patriots.
After the time-out, an error by FMU and an ace by
Hannah Tierney tied the contest at 23. The squads traded the next 10 points thanks in part to Diedrich's two outstanding digs to keep the rally going for the Pacers. The visitors registered two late points, winning 30-28 in the opening set.
In the second frame, USC Aiken fell behind 6-1, but rallied to make it a three-point contest. During the run,
Taylor Stratton had a kill while Diedrich and Tierney stuffed two attacks by the Patriots.
However, the visitors were able to pull away, taking the second frame.
USC Aiken fought back, taking the third frame with complete control. After the teams battled back-and-forth in the early going, an error by the visitors sparked a five-point run by the Pacers. During the spurt, Stratton had two kills and
Shawn Hotson registered an ace, making the score 14-9.
The visitors made it a contest momentarily, but
Danielle Mercer's superb serving essentially put the frame away. With Mercer serving, Hotson had two kills in the 25-21 victory.
USC Aiken pushed the match to the fifth set by handily taking the fourth stanza. Trailing 3-1 at the outset, the Pacers reeled off three straight to take a 4-3 edge on a block by
Endea Ellison.
With the score tied at five, another three-point spurt gave the home team the lead for good. Leading 16-14, Bologna slammed home a pass from
Katie Toman to make it 17-14. An error by the visitors forced a time-out. After the break, Diedrich powered home an over pass for the kill. USC Aiken closed out the set with a 25-16 victory.
In the fifth set, the Pacers found themselves trailing 4-1, but the team made a valiant comeback. Bologna's kill pulled the team within one, but that was as close as the squad could get.
Trailing 14-10, USC Aiken scored three straight on a kill by Aly Johnson, an ace by Hotson and a kill by Stratton. After a long rally, the visitors escaped with the 15-13 win.
For the match, Stratton slammed home a team-high 15 kills while Johnson pounded home 14. Diedrich registered 11.
Bologna notched a double-double with 54 assists and 10 digs. Diedrich recorded a double-double by adding 11 digs.
Defensively, Toman led everyone with a match-high 27 digs. At the net, Diedrich was in on five blocks while Ellison also accounted for five total blocks, including two of the solo variety.
The Pacers return to the court tomorrow at 2 p.m., when they play host to UNC Pembroke in another PBC contest.
