AIKEN, S.C. – The University of South Carolina Aiken volleyball team picked up a pair of decisive wins Friday, defeating Nova Southeastern 3-0 and No. 12 Palm Beach Atlantic by a 3-1 score.

The Pacers improve to 5-0 on the season.

Head coach Glenn Cox's team was led by Ashley Diedrich in the victory over Nova Southeastern with 13 kills and four blocks. Alicia Hines and Taylor Stratton each added seven kills. Emily Teelon dished out 28 assists.

Defensively, Monica Cardona led the way with a match-best 19 digs while Shawn Hotson chipped in seven. At the net, Hines was in on four blocks.

The Pacers hit an astounding .548 in the first set with 17 kills against no errors with 31 total attacks. The squad tallied a .286 attack percentage for the entire evening.

In the victory over Palm Beach Atlantic, Diedrich hammered home a match-high 20 kills and added 16 digs for a double-double. For good measure, she added a match-best five blocks.

Taylor Stratton slammed home 10 kills while Julia Forster, Ashley Lind and Hines all notched seven in the victory.

Teelon distributed a match-best 47 assists and garnered a double-double by accounting for 10 digs.

The defense was outstanding, turning in 95 digs, which ranks as the sixth most in school history in a four-set match. Cardona's match-high 28 digs is the seventh most in a four-set match.

In addition to Cardona, Katie Toman poured in 21 digs and added a pair of aces. Hotson chipped in 11 digs.

The Pacers' Diedrich slammed home the final point of the first set off a pass from Teelon.

In the second frame, USC Aiken trailed 3-0 before rallying to tie it at 10 when Diedrich and Hines blocked a shot. It turned into a back-and-forth affair until Cox's squad embarked on a 3-0 run, making it 22-17. During the spurt, Lind and Stratton had kills before a ball-handling error ended the run. The Pacers closed the set when Toman's serve sliced the defense for the 25-19 victory.

USC Aiken found itself trailing in the third set, but managed to tie it at 9-9. The team pulled within three at 21-18, but the visitors rattled off four straight points for the set victory.

After losing its first set of the season, Cox's squad battled back and led for almost the entire fourth set. USC Aiken opened a six-point edge when Hines and Stratton blocked a shot. Although PBA pulled within three on a pair of occasions, Diedrich and Lind put away passes from Teelon for the final two points of the match.

The Pacers return to action tomorrow at 12 p.m., when they host King. USC Aiken concludes its home tournament with a 4 p.m., match-up against Belmont Abbey.