AIKEN, S.C. – The University of South Carolina Aiken volleyball team swept No. 15 Armstrong State Thursday evening by scores of 25-20, 25-22 and 25-22.

The Pacers improve to 21-6 overall, including a 13-4 record against PBC competition.

It marked the first league loss for the Pirates after 43 consecutive regular-season victories and snapped a 50-match winning streak against conference foes, including postseason play. The last time Armstrong State dropped a regular-season conference match was Oct. 10, 2012 – to Flagler.

Head coach Glenn Cox's team was led by sophomore Taylor Stratton, who accounted for a team-high 11 kills while hitting .455. She accounted for just one error in 22 total attacks. Ashley Diedrich and Hannah Tierney each posted 10 kills while Aly Johnson smashed down seven kills en route to a .636 attack percentage.

Sheila Walsh dished out 35 assists to go along with eight digs. Monica Cardona notched a team-high 11 digs while Katie Toman and Diedrich chipped in nine and eight, respectively. Shawn Hotson totaled seven digs.

Diedrich led everyone with three total blocks, including a solo stuff. Tierney, who also had a pair of aces, accounted for two blocks. Julia Forster and Johnson each had one block.

For the match, USC Aiken tallied 44 kills and hit .254 while limiting the Pirates to a .184 attack percentage.

In the opening stanza, the teams battled back-and-forth until a kill by Tierney evened the score at 8-8. Diedrich took back-to-back passes from Walsh for kills, helping the team to a 10-8 advantage. After a kill by the visitors, Stratton found the court, Forster and Tierney combined for a block and a bad set by Armstrong State forced a time-out. An attack error pushed the margin to 15-9.

Armstrong State pulled within three at 23-20, but a kill by Diedrich and an ace by Tierney ended the set.

The Pirates held a lead at various times in the second set, including a two-point edge at 22-20 after an attack error. However, a time-out by Glenn Cox allowed the Pacers to calm down. Diedrich stepped up, slicing the defense for a kill. She and Johnson combined for a block, evening the contest at 22-22. An attack error by Emily Wylie forced Armstrong State to call a time-out.

Out of the break, Forster took a pass from Toman after an outstanding dig by Walsh. Forster slipped it through the defense for a kill, just prior to Tierney serving up an ace for the 25-22 win.

In the third frame, Cox's team found itself trailing 14-9. However, the team fought back without having to call time-out. Tierney started the rally with a kill. After the teams traded points, Diedrich went cross-court for the kill. Back-to-back attack errors by the Pirates made it a 15-14 contest.

Armstrong State widened the margin at 19-15, but Johnson, Stratton and Tierney pounded home kills on consecutive passes from Walsh. After a time-out and a point by the visitors, back-to-back attack errors by the Pirates knotted the set at 20. Tierney's kill gave the Pacers the lead for good.

After a time-out by Armstrong State, Diedrich and Tierney combined for a block. A miscue pushed the score to 23-20 and Diedrich posted a solo stuff for a 24-20 margin.

The Pacers committed back-to-back errors, but a service error by the Pirates ended the match.

"We came in pumped up, but we knew it was going to be a tough match," Walsh said. "We played Armstrong State to five sets earlier in the season and we didn't play our best match there. Tonight, we executed our game plan. It gives us a huge confidence boost for the rest of the season.

"When we were down by five in the third set, we just shook off our mistakes. Our goal is to play each point and not worry about what happened previously. Overall, it was a good win for us, but we have to turn our attention to tomorrow night."

The Pacers host Flagler tomorrow night at 7 p.m. It marks the regular-season finale for the team.