AIKEN, S.C. – The University of South Carolina Aiken volleyball team was solid in every phase Wednesday evening en route to a 3-0 victory over Francis Marion.

The Pacers are now 11-3 on the season, including a 4-3 mark against league foes.

Head coach Glenn Cox's team recorded a .319 attack percentage and tallied 84 digs, which is the second most in school history in a three-set match.

Offensively, Shawn Hotson led everyone with 13 kills while hitting .433. Taylor Stratton added 12 kills while Alicia Hines boasted an outstanding .556 attack percentage by slamming home 10 kills on 18 attempts without an error. Aly Johnson accounted for nine kills while registering a .600 attack percentage. Johnson did not commit any errors in the match wihle also accounting for a block.

Emily Teelon recorded a double-double with 40 assists and 19 digs. However, it was not only Teelon that was solid along the back row. In all, five student-athletes reached double figures in digs.

The squad was led by Katie Toman's 23 digs, which is the fourth most in school history in a three-set match. For good measure, Toman, along with Monica Cardona, shared match-high accolades with two aces apiece. Cardona tallied 14 digs while Mercer and Hotson each had 12.

The Pacers led from the outset and never looked back. Leading 7-4, Hines and Forster registered back-to-back kills for the five-point edge. Cox's squad pushed the margin to 10 after going on a 6-0 run. Leading 15-10, Stratton started things off with a kill. After an error by the visitors, Hines added another kill. Forster posted a kill and the Patriots added another error in the mix, giving the Pacers a 21-10 advantage.

In the second set, the contest was tied at 4-4 before the Pacers embarked on a 10-5 spurt. However, FMU bounced back, rallying to pull within two at 20-18. Hines answered the call with authority, slamming home a pass from Teelon for a three-point edge. Danielle Mercer followed it up with an ace. After an error by the Patriots, Hotson registered the last two points from USC Aiken for the 25-19 victory.

The Patriots led 5-4 in the third set before a 6-0 run from Cox's squad gave the team the lead for good. Hotson evened the set with a kill. Hines followed it up with a kill. Hotson and Hines each had kills prior to Hotson serving up an ace for a 10-5 lead.

After FMU pulled within three at 13-10, a miscue gave the ball back to USC Aiken, which quickly made it an 18-10 contest with Cardona serving up a pair of aces.

USC Aiken closed out the match after a substantial rally that ended with an attack error by the Patriots, giving the home team a 25-14 victory.

The Pacers return to action Friday when they host Mars Hill (3 p.m.) and Carson-Newman (5:30 p.m.) in the Peach Belt Conference-South Atlantic Conference crossover challenge.