ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – The University of South Carolina Aiken volleyball team lost a hard-fought 3-2 match to Georgia College in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Pacers finish the season at 25-6.
Head coach
Glenn Cox's team was led by
Alie Smith's 20 kills and 16 digs.
Alicia Hines had 11 kills while
Avery Macklin hammered home 16 kills.
Julia Forster notched 15 kills in the contest.
Emily Teelon tallied 54 assists, 22 digs and hit .500 with six kills.
Defensively,
Rebecca Martinez led the way with 31 digs.
Natalie Perrault posted a career-best 20 digs while
Kayla Duggan notched 14.
In the first set, USC Aiken trailed 10-8 before reeling off four straight points. The Pacers maintained a slight lead the rest of the way in the 25-17 win. Holding a 17-16 edge, Forster slammed down a kill. A kill by Hines pushed the score to 20-17. Leading 21-18, Hines posted back-to-back kills before
Natalie Perrault served up an ace. A kill from Hines and Smith finished off the frame.
After dropping the second frame, Cox's squad took a 25-22 victory in the third stanza. Trailing 18-15, Hines stuffed an attempt. Smith slammed home a pass before a miscue by the Bobcats knotted the contest. The teams exchanged the next four points before Smith found the court for a kill. Macklin and Smith notched back-to-back kills and an error made it 24-20.
Christine Carroll ended the set with an outstanding play for the three-point win.
The fourth frame was a back-and-forth affair, but the Bobcats managed to pull out the 26-24 victory.
USC Aiken trailed 9-5 in the fifth frame, but managed to come back and tie it. During the spurt, Hines had a kill while Smith had two. After a time-out, the visitors took an 11-9 edge, but a kill from Smith made it a 12-11 contest. Down 13-11, Smith sent a shot cross-court for the point. Forster took a pass from Teelon after a nice dig from Martinez for the point. The Bobcats held a 14-13 edge, but Forster registered the match-tying kill at 14-14. GC rattled off the next two points for the match.
