SAVANNAH, Ga. – The University of South Carolina Aiken volleyball team posted a 3-0 season-opening victory over Lincoln Memorial Friday evening. Set scores were 25-22, 25-23 and 25-17.

The Pacers are now 1-0 on the season.

Ashley Diedrich led the way with a team-high 11 kills to go along with 15 digs for a double-double. For good measure, the reigning Peach Belt Conference and Southeast Region Player of the Year was in on four blocks and added a pair of service aces.

Ashley Lind slammed home 10 kills against one error for a .562 attack percentage. Alicia Hines buried eight kills and hit .286. The sophomore was part of six block assists.

Setter Emily Teelon distributed 33 assists to go along with seven digs. Defensively, Monica Cardona led everyone with 19 digs.  The squad tallied 58 digs and 14 block assists.

As a team, the Pacers hit .184 on 40 kills and 114 attempts. In what turned out to be the final set, head coach Glenn Cox's team registered an outstanding .321 attack percentage.

In the opening set, Cox's squad found itself trailing 7-2 before Diedrich and Hines stuffed a shot by Liz Brock. The team whittled away the margin with Lind behind the service line. She registered a pair of aces and an attack error by Brock knotted the contest at 12-12.

Tied at 16, Hines and Lind posted back-to-back kills prior to Cardona slicing the defense for an ace. The Pacers wrapped up the final two points of the set on a kill by Taylor Stratton and an attack error for the 25-22 victory.

Cox's team found itself trailing 21-16 in the second frame but a motivational speech during a time-out helped fire the team up. The Pacers embarked on a 9-2 run, claiming the set. Teelon's sensational serving put the Railsplitters in precarious positions during the spurt.

USC Aiken led 17-16 in the third stanza before Stratton and Diedrich posted back-to-back kills. Teelon notched an ace for a 20-16 advantage. Leading 20-17, Hines slammed home a pass from Teelon and was in on a block. Katie Toman aced the defense prior to an attack error by the designated visitors. Julia Forster wrapped up the match by hammering home a pass from Diedrich for the 25-17 victory.

The Pacers return to action tomorrow with a pair of matches. The squad takes on Tusculum at 11 a.m., prior to playing Brevard at 2:30 p.m.