Familiar Foe

USC Aiken opens its season against a familiar foe in Lincoln Memorial. The teams tangled in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and the Pacers prevailed in a tightly contested 3-0 match. The teams have squared off nine times in the program's history and this marks the sixth time the squads have faced one another prior to Sept. 15.

Against The SAC

Including the Sweet 16 match from a season ago, the Pacers will continue their four-match swing against the South Atlantic Conference with matches this weekend against Lincoln Memorial, Carson-Newman and Mars Hill.

All-Americans

The 2018 season ended with a pair of Pacers earning All-America accolades. Senior libero Rebecca Martinez was a first-team All-America honoree from the D2CCA while also earning honorable mention accolades from the AVCA. Senior middle blocker Christine Carroll was tabbed an honorable mention All-American by both organizations.

Closing In

Three USC Aiken student-athletes are closing in on some impressive numbers this season. By staying healthy, remaining productive and having a solid year, Christine Carroll, Rebecca Martinez and Alie Smith could all reach milestones in 2019. Carroll heads into the season with 709 career kills, needing 291 to reach the 1,000-kill mark in her illustrious career. Martinez heads into year with 1,873 career digs. She needs 127 to reach 2,000, 288 to shatter the USC Aiken career record, 376 to break the PBC 30-point rally-scoring mark and 632 to break the PBC all-time career record. Smith, through her first two seasons, has surpassed the halfway mark to 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs. She enters the campaign needing 339 kills and 349 digs to reach 1,000 in both categories. Only four other Pacers have garnered the feat since 1981.  

Legacy

The 2019 squad has a familiar name on the roster in Mercer. Kari Mercer is the younger sister of USC Aiken single-season record holder Danielle Mercer. In Danielle's final season, she picked up PBC Libero of the Year honors along with first-team all-region and NCAA Southeast Region all-tournament team accolades. Kari Mercer is a 5-6 libero who will vie for playing time and will look to make an impact immediately.

Sisters

The Mercer name is not the only name that is familiar to Pacer Nation. This year, there are two with the name Duggan on the roster. Kayla Duggan is a rising junior while her younger sister, Emily, is a freshman on the team. Duggan is a 5-7 libero who will vie for playing time and will look to make an impact immediately.

Newcomers

In addition to Emily Duggan and Kari Mercer, head coach Glenn Cox brought in fellow first-year student-athletes Mallory Barash (Setter), Jessi Yeldell (Middle Blocker/Right Side) and Abbey Schad (Outside Hitter). The squad also added redshirt-sophomore Ashlyn Hill (Middle Blocker).

The Last Time…

This season, USC Aiken has five seniors on the roster in Alli Bell, Christine Carroll, Avery Macklin, Rebecca Martinez and Kelsey Spurlin. Four of the five (Bell transferred in prior to her junior year) were freshmen when the Pacers clinched the NCAA Southeast Regional in 2016. That season, USC Aiken had five seniors on the squad.

Inside The Numbers

This week, USC Aiken opens the season against Lincoln Memorial and Carson-Newman on Friday, Sept. 6 before facing Mars Hill on Saturday, Sept. 7. Since moving to Division II, the Pacers are 181-121 (59.9 percent) in Friday matches and 219-141 (60.8 percent) in Saturday contests. During the same time, the team is 8-5 on Sept. 6 and 8-6 on Sept. 7.

Against The Opponents

This week, USC Aiken opens the season against Lincoln Memorial and Carson-Newman on Friday, Sept. 6 before facing Mars Hill on Saturday, Sept. 7. The Pacers are 6-3 in the all-time series against the Railsplitters. The team is 8-4 in the all-time series against the Eagles and USC Aiken is 10-2 in the all-time series against the Lions.