GREENWOOD, S.C. – The University of South Carolina Aiken volleyball team lost a hard-fought 3-2 match at Lander Thursday evening.

The Pacers are now 21-2 on the year, including 5-1 in league play.

Christine Carroll led everyone with a career-high 25 kills. She added three blocks and two aces. Alie Smith accounted for 17 kills and a career-best 22 digs for a double-double. Abbey Schad posted 13 kills while hitting .423.

Alli Bell registered a career-high 62 assists to go along with eight digs and six kills.

Defensively, Rebecca Martinez totaled 28 digs while Kari Mercer and Emily Duggan each registered career-high efforts of 18 and 17 digs, respectively.

Head coach Glenn Cox's team trailed 4-0 in the first set but tied it at 11-11 on a kill from Schad. Carroll and Anita Cookey-Gam added kills for a two-point edge. Up 18-14, Smith had a pair of kills while Schad had one on the way to a 22-14 advantage. The Bearcats tried to claw their way back, but the Smith served up an ace for the 25-20 victory.

After dropping the second set 27-25, the Pacers bounced back to cage the Bearcats 25-18 in the third frame. USC Aiken jumped out to an 11-3 edge and never looked back. Brittany French posted two kills before Carroll hammered home a kill for the seven-point win.

Cox's team held a 21-18 lead in the fourth set, but the squad was unable to finish off the home team.

USC Aiken held a 6-4 lead in the fifth frame, but the Bearcats managed to go on a 4-0 run after the teams were tied at 8-8. Avery Macklin tried to bring the team back with a pair of kills, but the visitors were unable to complete the comeback in the 15-11 loss.

It marked the first loss in the series for USC Aiken since Nov. 16, 2012. However, the Pacers still maintain a 38-9 lead in the all-time series. 

The Pacers return to action on Friday, Nov. 1 when they host Francis Marion at 7 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at PacerSports.com.