GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – The University of South Carolina Aiken volleyball team rattled off a pair of hard-fought victories Friday on the first day of the PBC Crossover. The Pacers defeated Tusculum 3-2 before beating Mars Hill 3-1.

The Pacers are now 15-3 on the season.

In the opener against the host Pioneers, head coach Glenn Cox's team needed five sets to pull off the come-from-behind victory.

Taylor Stratton registered a then-career-high 22 kills to go along with 15 digs for a double-double performance. Julia Forster notched 13 kills while Shawn Hotson narrowly missed a double-double with 12 kills and nine digs. For good measure, she was in on a solo block and three block assists. Alicia Hines tallied eight kills while Kassy Johannsen posted six.  

Emily Teelon garnered a double-double with 51 assists and 12 digs. Danielle Mercer posted a team-best 22 digs while Rebecca Martinez established a career high with 17.

At the net, the Pacers had a dyad of solo blocks and 10 block assists as Hotson and Hines had three apiece.

After losing the first set, Cox's squad quickly regrouped and jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the second frame. Leading 9-4 Johannsen served up an ace after a time-out and Hotson hammered home a pass from Teelon to make it 11-4. With the score at 15-9, USC Aiken reeled off four straight points, including the last two via miscues by Tusculum, and coasted to the 25-11 victory.

The third set was tightly contested. Leading 20-19, Hines found the court and an error by the Pioneers made it a three-point contest. After a time-out, Hines notched back-to-back kills, forcing another break in the action. Stratton finished the set with a kill and the five-point win.

USC Aiken trailed the fourth set 19-12 but continued to push hard. The squad pulled within two but could get no closer in the 25-21 loss, forcing a fifth set.

Teelon started the final stanza with an ace. After an error by the home team, Teelon served up another winner. Although the Pioneers tied it on three occasions, USC Aiken would not fall behind. Tied at 8-8, Stratton registered a kill. Back-to-back errors by Tusculum made it 11-8. After a time-out, the Pioneers committed another miscue. With the score at 12-9, Stratton found the court for a kill prior to Tusculum committing back-to-back errors to end the match.

In the nightcap against MHC, Stratton posted her second double-double of the day with a career-high 23 kills to go along with 13 digs. Forster hammered home 17 kills while hitting .306.

Hines totaled eight kills and four total blocks while Johannsen accounted for five kills and five total blocks. Amber Hendry chipped in five kills.

Teelon registered a double-double with 55 assists and 11 digs. She also added five total blocks and four kills while hitting .600.

Mercer led everyone with 28 digs while Hotson added 16.

Stratton's 23 kills are the sixth most in a four-set match in school history. Teelon's 55 assists are the sixth most in a four-set match in the program's history while Mercer's 28 digs are tied for 10^th in the record book for a four-set match.

Trailing 18-17 in the first set, Johannsen smashed a kill and an error by MHC gave USC Aiken a one-point advantage. Tied at 20-20, Stratton slammed home a kill, sparking a 5-0 run to end the first set. In the spurt, Forster and Hines had kills while Hotson shut the cage on the Lions with an ace.

Cox's team fell behind 9-5 in the second frame, but managed to whittle away at the deficit. Down 16-13, an error by MHC, a block by Hines and Teelon and a kill from Hines knotted the contest. After another kill by Hines, the home team called a time-out. However, it did little to help the Lions as USC Aiken continued the run, winning the next six points and cruised to the 25-17 win.

The Pacers were outscored 10-4 to start the third stanza and could not catch up. The team pulled within two at 20-18, but MHC won the third set.

A 4-0 run gave USC Aiken an 8-5 lead in the fourth frame. Hendry had a pair of kills in the spurt. The Lions pulled within one at 20-19, but Stratton answered the door with back-to-back points. She accounted for four of the final five points for the victors in the 25-21 win.

The Pacers return to action tomorrow when they play at Carson-Newman at 1 p.m. The squad will then take on Lincoln Memorial at 5 p.m. Live stats will be available at PacerSports.com.