Pacers Push Pirates Off The Plank With 3-1 Win

AIKEN, S.C. – The University of South Carolina Aiken volleyball team registered a 3-1 victory over Armstrong State Saturday afternoon in a Peach Belt Conference contest.

The Pacers improve to 20-3 overall, including a 9-2 mark against league foes. The Pirates fall to 16-3 on the year and 6-2 against conference competition.

Julia Forster led the way with a match-best 14 kills. She added 13 digs for a double-double. Amber Hendry garnered 10 kills. Christine Carroll and Kassy Johannsen notched nine kills apiece while Shawn Hotson totaled eight. Emily Teelon had six kills while Alicia Hines and Danielle Mercer added two and one, respectively.

Emily Teelon dished out a match-best 48 assists. Danielle Mercer led the defense with a match-high 28 digs, which is tied for 10^th most in school history in a four-set match. Hotson added 20 digs, including a couple of the pancake variety. Rebecca Martinez accounted for nine digs.

At the net, Johannsen was in on a match-best four blocks while Hendry was in on three.

USC Aiken opened the match with a 6-0 run. Johannsen started things off with a kill. Teelon served up an ace before Johannsen and Hendry notched back-to-back kills. Hendry and Johannsen combined for a block before an Armstrong State error made it 6-0.

Although the Pirates pulled within one at 14-13, Hendry's kill extended the lead. Two miscues by the Pirates put the score at 17-13. Head coach Glenn Cox's team slowly made it 24-18, but the Pirates battled back, making it 24-22 before USC Aiken called a time-out. After the break, Johannsen and Forster stuffed Rachel Thompson for the 25-22 victory.

The second stanza was a back-and-forth affair. Trailing 21-20, Teelon found Hotson for a pair of kills that befuddled the defense. Hendry got in on the action with a kill before Hotson's slam pushed the score to 24-21. Leading 24-22, the Pacers took the set on an attack error by the visitors.

USC Aiken dropped the third set, but bounced back to lead in the fourth frame 5-2. With the score at 7-5, an error by the Pirates pushed the margin to 8-5. Forster hammered home back-to-back kills before Carroll chimed in with one of her own.

Leading 12-5, Armstrong State called a time-out. After the break, Hotson served up an ace, Carroll added a kill and Hotson finished off the spurt with another service winner.

USC Aiken extended its advantage to seven, 18-11, but the Pirates battled back. The score stood at 24-21 in favor of the Pacers, but Armstrong State went on a 4-0 run to take a 25-24 lead. Carley Eiken took the serve, but Teelon found Forster for the kill. A bad set by Eiken gave USC Aiken the next point before Forster slammed the door off a pass from Mercer for the 27-25 win.  

The Pacers return to action Tuesday when they travel to Francis Marion for a 7 p.m., match. Live stats and video will be available at PacerSports.com.