AIKEN, S.C. – The University of South Carolina Aiken volleyball team registered a 3-0 victory over UNC Pembroke Friday evening. Set scores were 25-13, 25-17 and 25-15.

The Pacers are now 15-5 overall, including an 8-3 record against league competition.

For the match, Ashley Diedrich recorded a match-best 14 kills against just two errors while hitting .462. She also chipped in four block assists along with three aces. Julia Forster and Taylor Stratton had seven kills apiece. Sheila Walsh dished out a match-best 31 assists to go along with three aces. Katie Toman added a pair of aces while Hannah Tierney accounted for one.

Defensively, Monica Cardona accounted for a match-best 21 digs while Shawn Hotson tallied 10. At the net, Tierney led everyone with six block assists. Aly Johnson and Stratton had two block assists each.

In the opening set, head coach Glenn Cox's team jumped out to a 4-0 lead. After an ace by Walsh, Tierney added a kill prior to Diedrich slamming home two passes. Leading 8-5, USC Aiken embarked on a 5-0 spurt behind kills from Forster and two by Johnson. Diedrich added three aces during the stretch.

With the score at 16-9, the Pacers widened the margin to 11 behind a block by Tierney and Walsh, an ace by Walsh and a kill from Stratton. USC Aiken scored the final two points of the set from a kill by Diedrich and an ace by Tierney.

The second set was close in the early going as the home team took a 12-10 advantage on Diedrich's kill. The margin stayed at three until Walsh's ace pushed the score to 20-16. USC Aiken netted the final four points of the set behind an ace from Katie Toman and back-to-back kills from Diedrich and Walsh.

The teams battled back-and-forth in what turned out to be the final set. With the score tied at 10, Forster pounded home an over pass and an attack error by the visitors made it 12-10. The Braves pulled within one, but an error by UNC Pembroke and a kill from Forster gave the team a three-point edge. The Braves pulled within two on three more occasions, but with the score at 18-15, Stratton's kill forced a time-out.

With Walsh serving, the home team reeled off the final six points for the win. During the stretch, Diedrich powered home four straight passes for kills. Diedrich and Tierney stuffed an attack for the final point of the match.

The Pacers return to action on Friday when they travel to Georgia College for a 7 p.m., match.