AUGUSTA, Ga. – The University of South Carolina Aiken volleyball team registered a 3-0 win over Young Harris in the first round of the PBC Tournament Friday afternoon.

The Pacers are now 18-8 on the season while the Mountain Lions conclude their season at 3-23.

Alie Smith led the way with a match-high 15 kills while hitting an absurd .429. She also added seven digs and a pair of aces.

Emily Lammers hit .353 while slamming down eight kills. Alisha Pitt hit .312 with seven kills while Anita Cookey-Gam and Kayla Duggan each had six kills in the win.

Mallory Barash dished out a match-best 23 assists while Caroline Foster posted 14 assists.

At the net, Cookey-Gam and Duggan had three blocks apiece while Pitt registered a solo stuff.

In a back-and-forth opening frame, the score was tied at 16-16 before Foster served up an ace. Smith followed it with a kill, forcing a time-out. Leading 18-17, a miscue by YHC and a kill from Kayla Duggan hammered home a kill. Cox's team slowly pulled away and Pitt ended the frame with a thunderous kill for the 25-20 win.

In the second stanza, USC Aiken jumped out to a 7-1 lead thanks in part to the rare libero kill from Mercer. YHC pulled within five at 11-6 but the Pacers pushed the margin to 13 when Lammers served six straight times to make it 21-8. The Pacers led 23-11 before Cookey-Gam and Kayla Duggan combined for back-to-back blocks.

Lammers dropped back to the service line to start the third set and helped provide the Pacers a 9-0 start en route to the victory. During the run, Smith had three kills while Lammers had one also while registering an ace. The team was never challenged in the set, maintaining a healthy lead through. Cookey-Gam ended the match with a kill off a pass from Barash.   

The Pacers return to action tomorrow when they play at No.2 Augusta at 2 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at PacerSports.com.