AIKEN, S.C. – The University of South Carolina Aiken swept King and Belmont Abbey Saturday afternoon while Ashley Diedrich recorded her 1000^th-career kill against the Crusaders in a pair of non-conference volleyball action.

The Pacers are now 7-0 on the season.

Head coach Glenn Cox's team defeated King by scores of 25-14, 25-13 and 25-20.

In the win, Diedrich pounded home a match-best 14 kills and narrowly missed a double-double with nine digs as every student-athlete saw time in the match.

Taylor Stratton added nine kills while Alicia Hines registered eight as the team hit .302.

Emily Teelon led everyone with 30 assists while Shawn Hotson paced the defense with a team-best 11 digs. Hines was magnificent at the net, assisting on four of the 10 blocks by USC Aiken.

The Pacers slammed home 13 kills in the opening frame against just two errors for a .440 attack percentage.

The team was never seriously challenged in the set, reeling off eight of the final 11 points for the 25-13 victory. During that stretch, Diedrich smashed a pass from Teelon. Aly Johnson buried a shot prior to Diedrich recording an ace.

Lauren Howard posted an ace prior to dishing out an assist to Johnson. Brittany Faulkner and Johnson blocked a shot, giving the team a 25-13 victory.

In the second frame, the score was tied at 8-8 before Cox's team went on a 17-5 run to finish the set. The third stanza was close throughout, but an error by King gave the team a three-point edge. Katie Toman dropped back and posted an ace before Johnson confounded the defense with her superb shot. Toman added another ace. A ball handling error eventually gave the Pacers the 25-20 victory.

In the nightcap, Cox's team won 25-18, 25-17 and 25-19.

Julia Forster pounded home a match-high 12 kills while boasting a .524 attack percentage. Diedrich garnered 11 kills and Ashley Lind recorded a .600 attack percentage. Taylor Stratton, Hines and Lind all had six kills. For the match, USC Aiken hit .307.

Teelon dished out 35 assists and Diedrich confused the defense for four aces.

Defensively, Monica Cardona totaled a match-best 19 digs and rookie Okwunne   Ogbogu blocked a match-high three shots.

The Pacers stretched their lead to five in the early going and never looked back en route to the 25-18 victory.

USC Aiken scored the first six points in the second frame with Teelon serving and quickly extended the lead to 12 points at 16-4 when Stratton converted a pass from Cardona. Ogbogu and Stratton ended the frame by blocking a shot for the eight-point margin.

Cox's team found itself trailing 10-8, but the squad tied the contest at 12 on an attack error. Forster's kill made it 13-12 and after the teams traded the next few points, USC Aiken took the lead for good when Hines found the court for a 15-14 lead.

A pair of attack errors and a kill from Diedrich pushed the score to 18-15. After leading 20-18, Diedrich's kill and an error by the Crusaders made it 22-18. Hines and Forster had a kill apiece before Diedrich's ace ended the match for the six-point victory.

The Pacers return to action Friday when they open Peach Belt Conference play at UNC Pembroke. The match is slated to start at 6 p.m.

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Ashley Diedrich (MVP)  (USC Aiken)
Tarryn Angermeier (Lander)
Rachael Holehouse (Palm Beach Atlantic)
Dana Holger (Nova Southeastern)
Katie Pyles (Nova Southeastern)
Faith Rohn (Palm Beach Atlantic)
Hannah Schellenberg (Belmont Abbey)