Each week throughout the 2016 USC Aiken volleyball season, the sports information office will produce weekly notes.

Mercer Doesn't Give Opponents Mercy

Senior Danielle Mercer has had a very good start to the 2016 campaign. After a strong start at the Queens Tournament, she did not let up at the USC Aiken Invitational. In the blanking of Mount Olive, she tallied 12 digs, but that was just a start to the weekend. She had a career-high 30 digs in the victory over Eckerd before notching 15 and 26, respectively, in wins over Belmont Abbey and Lenoir-Rhyne. For the weekend, she averaged 5.93 digs per set. She currently leads the PBC in digs and digs per frame.

Finding Forster

In addition to having two double-double performances this weekend, Julia Forster had a record match not once, but twice. In the victory over Eckerd, she pounded out a career-high 19 kills and tallied a then-career high of 15 digs. However, she bested her dig performance with a career-high 18 in the win over Lenoir-Rhyne. For good measure, Forster added career highs with five assists and three aces.

Stratton Slams The Door On The Tritons

After losing the first set against Eckerd, head coach Glenn Cox's team got things going. The Pacers reeled off three straight set wins thanks in large part to senior Taylor Stratton's performance. Stratton pounded out 15 kills in the win while hitting .306. However, in the third set she registered the set-winning kill. Then, tied at 24 in the fourth frame, Emily Teelon found Stratton for back-to-back kills to give the Pacers the 3-1 win.

All-Tournament Team

Julia Forster, Danielle Mercer and Taylor Stratton were all named to the USC Aiken Invitational all-tournament team for their hard work. Stratton averaged 4.0 kills per set and led the way with 56 total kills. She also hit .322. Forster had a double-double, had 51 kills and 47 digs. Mercer posted a squad-high 83 digs for 5.93 a set. All three tallied career-high efforts in at least one category this season.

Hines Is On Top Of Her Game

Junior Alicia Hines had a spectacular weekend, helping the team go 4-0. She powered home 27 kills while posting just one error en route to a .456 attack percentage. Hines also led the team with 14 total blocks, accounting for one per set.

Martinez Has Her First Monster Game

Rebecca Martinez has seen time in every set this season and has been solid in every contest. However, in the sweep of Belmont Abbey, Martinez led everyone with a career-high and match-best 17 digs. Multiple attempts she got to were spectacular, which bodes well for USC Aiken and not so well for opponents. In five of her eight matches Martinez has reached double-digit digs.

Hotson's Hot Start

Prior to this season, Shawn Hotson's best numbers in terms of kills per set came as a freshman when she averaged 1.40 per frame, totaling 132 on the year. This season, Hotson is averaging 3.06 kills per set, notching 95 thus far through eight matches. Her .252 attack percentage is more than double her previous best (.125 as a freshman). With 99 digs, she is closing in on 1,000 for her career while posting a career-high 3.19 per set. Hotson's also only nine total blocks away from tying her career high.

Block Party

At the USC Aiken Invitational, eight student-athletes had at least one total block for head coach Glenn Cox. Alicia Hines led the way with 14 total blocks while Kassy Johannsen added 13. Shawn Hotson had nine while Julia Forster tallied eight. Taylor Stratton and Emily Teelon had six and five, respectively, while Avery Macklin and Okwunne Ogbogu each added one. In all, USC Aiken had 31 total blocks compared to 18 by its four opponents.

Macklin Is Ambidextrous 

Freshman Avery Macklin saw playing time in a pair of matches this weekend. She saw her first career playing time in the sweep of Mount Olive. In the contest, the left-handed right-side hitter had four attempts. It was in that match that she registered her first career kill, which ironically came via her right hand.

Inside The Numbers

This week, USC Aiken plays a pair of weekend matches. The first comes on Friday while the second is Saturday. The Pacers are 157-116 in Friday matches since moving to the Peach Belt Conference 957.5 percent). USC Aiken has won 59.1 percent of its matches on Saturdays during the same time span (192-133). Since moving to Division II, the Pacers are 5-5 on Sept. 16 and 4-7 in matches played on Sept. 17.

Against The Opponents

This week, USC Aiken hosts UNC Pembroke and Francis Marion. The Pacers are 49-11 in the all-time series against the Braves, having won the last nine contests. USC Aiken is 35-21 in the all-time series against the Patriots. The teams split the matches last year, but the Pacers won the last contest between the two.