AIKEN, S.C. – The University of South Carolina Aiken volleyball team recorded a 3-0 victory over Armstrong State Wednesday evening in a Peach Belt Conference contest.

The Pacers improve to 16-3 on the season, including a 5-3 mark against league foes. The squad handed the Pirates their first league loss of the season.

Ashley Diedrich led everyone with a match-best nine kills as head coach Glenn Cox's team spread the ball around fairly evenly.

Taylor Stratton added eight kills while Julia Forster totaled seven. Aly Johnson chipped in six while Ashley Lind and Alicia Hines added five apiece. Shawn Hotson and Emily Teelon contributed two kills each.

Teelon dished out a team-best 19 assists while Lauren Howard chipped in 18. Teelon and Katie Toman shared match-best accolades as each sliced the defense for two kills.

Defensively, Toman led everyone with 18 digs and Hotson contributed 11. Johnson posted three total blocks while Stratton contributed two.

The squad hit .248 while limiting the visitors to a .135 attack percentage.

The first set was a back-and-forth affair and the Pirates grabbed a 16-14 lead. However, an attack error gave the ball to the Pacers and Hotson followed it up with an ace. Hines and Stratton blocked a shot, giving the squad a 17-16 lead.

Trailing 19-18, Johnson took a pass from Howard and slammed it home, knotting the contest. A pair of attack errors and another kill by Johnson pushed the margin to 22-20. Stratton added a kill prior to Diedrich and Hines scoring a point apiece in the 25-22 victory.

USC Aiken started the second set strong and jumped out to a 16-11 lead after Teelon found a spot in the middle of the court for a kill. The team slowly stretched the lead to eight points when Stratton hammered home a pass from Toman. An attack error by Armstrong State allowed the Pacers to take the second frame 25-17.

Cox's team was in complete control of the third frame, snagging an 18-8 lead on a kill by Diedrich. The Pirates attempted to climb back into the contest, but a kill from Johnson and an ace from Stratton ended the match with a 25-18 victory.

The Pacers return to action Saturday when they host Flagler at 2 p.m. Live stats, video and audio are available at PacerSports.com.