AIKEN, S.C. – The University of South Carolina Aiken volleyball team stepped out of conference competition Tuesday evening and defeated Johnson C. Smith by a 3-0 score. Set scores were 25-7, 25-17 and 25-9.

The Pacers are now 14-5 overall.

Taylor Stratton led the way with a match-high 11 kills while Shawn Hotson accounted for nine. Hotson hit a match-best .533 while Stratton accounted for a .529 attack percentage.

Alicia Hines added four kills while Aly Johnson posted three. Lauren Howard, Hannah Tierney and Katie Toman accounted for two apiece. Amanda Bologna, Julia Forster and Brittany Faulkner all had one kill each as the Pacers spread around the powerful offensive attack.

Bologna registered a match-high 23 assists while Howard added five. At the service line, USC Aiken sliced the defense for 15 aces, including seven by Forster. Hotson added four.

Defensively, Hotson tallied a match-high 12 digs while Danielle Mercer and Howard totaled seven and five, respectively. At the net, Johnson had a solo block to go along with four block assists. Faulkner added two.

Overall, the Pacers hit .320 for the match, converting with 36 kills against just 12 errors while forcing the Golden Bulls into a -.096 attack percentage.

USC Aiken jumped out a 10-3 edge in the first frame as Hannah Tierney dropped back to serve four straight times, including one serve that did not allow the defense to move before it hit the ground. The Pacers pushed the margin to 20-4 after embarking on a 10-0 spurt. During the run, Hotson had three aces.

The Pacers were in a closer contest during the second stanza. The Golden Bulls took their first lead at 6-5, but head coach Glenn Cox's team went on a 5-0 run as Bologna, Stratton and Hotson all had kills.

After JCSU pulled within two at 11-9, five straight points by the home squad gave the team enough room as it cruised to a 25-17 win.

USC Aiken trailed 1-0 in the third set, but after a kill by Stratton, Forster dropped back to serve and connected with five aces while Hotson added three kills en route to an 11-1 edge. The team maintained at least a 10-point margin the rest of the way and Stratton closed the match with a kill.  

The Pacers return to action Friday when they host UNC Pembroke in a Peach Belt Conference contest. The match is slated to start at 7 p.m.