AIKEN, S.C. – The University of South Carolina Aiken volleyball team opened the Peach Belt Conference season with a decisive 3-0 victory over UNC Pembroke Friday evening.

The Pacers are now 8-1 on the season while the Braves fall to 1-10.

Julia Forster led the way with a match-high nine kills while hitting .273. Senior Taylor Stratton notched eight kills and hit .375. Shawn Hotson chipped in six kills (.333) while Alicia Hines hammered home four (.429).

Emily Teelon added two kills while Christine Carroll, Amber Hendry and Kassy Johannsen each had one. Teelon narrowly missed a double-double with 22 assists and nine digs. Forster also nearly had a double-double with nine digs.

Defensively, Rebecca Martinez posted 17 digs while Danielle Mercer added 12. Julianna Hoekwater, who along with Carroll, saw their first collegiate playing time, chipped in two digs.

Carroll and Johannsen each had two block assists. Hines and Stratton tallied solo blocks.

At the service line, head coach Glenn Cox's team was superb, tallying 13 aces in the match.

For the contest, the team hit .259 while holding the visitors to a -.130.

With the score tied at 2-2 in the opening set, Johannsen's kill sparked the Pacers, helping the team rattle off seven straight points. In the spurt, Forster had two kills while Hotson added one. Johannsen also served up an ace in the run.

USC Aiken extended the lead to 14-4 on back-to-back kills by Hines and never looked back. Leading 23-11, Cox's team earned the last two points on miscues by the Braves.

The Pacers took the first four points of the second set thanks to a kill by Stratton, an ace by Teelon and two attack errors by UNC Pembroke. After the visitors tied the set at 6-6, Hines and Hotson registered back-to-back kills before a block from Hines made it 9-6.

Leading 14-10, Stratton and Teelon added kills, Mercer had an ace and Stratton stuffed an attack for an 18-10 margin. With the score 23-12, Carroll slammed home a pass from Watts for her first career kill. On the next play, she and fellow freshman Avery Macklin formed a wall at the net and combined for the final point via a block.

USC Aiken jumped out to an 8-1 lead in the third set and never looked back. The squad cruised to the 25-11 victory, winning on a miscue by the Braves.

The Pacers return to action tomorrow at 2 p.m., when they host Francis Marion. Live stats and video will be available at PacerSports.com.