AIKEN, S.C. – The University of South Carolina Aiken volleyball team dominated Young Harris Friday evening by a 3-0 score in the last home match of seniors Anita Cookey-Gam, Kayla Duggan and Alie Smith.

The Pacers are now 17-7 overall and 6-3 in league play.

After a Senior Day ceremony honoring the trio, all three got the starting nod and put on outstanding performances. 

Smith and Pitt shared match-high honors with 10 kills apiece. Smith hit .391 while Pitt posted a .625 mark. Kayla Duggan hit .462 with six kills and nine digs while Cookey-Gam managed five kills, five digs and an ace.

Lammers, the reigning PBC Player of the Week, had five kills in one set of action. Caroline Foster distributed a match-high 16 assists – all of which came in only one set of playing time. Mallory Barash added 10 assists in a set while Sophie Meredith tallied nine assists in a set of play. 

At the service line, Smith and Sadie McKay had two aces apiece. 

Defensively, Kari Mercer posted 10 digs. Emily Duggan tallied three while Sophia Hoffman, Lily Andrews and Pitt had two apiece.  

In a total-team effort, the Pacers registered 41 kills against seven errors to hit .382. The squad was outstanding in the first set, posting 17 kills against one error for a .500 attack percentage. 

USC Aiken jumped out to a 7-1 lead in the first frame and never looked back. Smith and Lammers opened with kills before three straight miscues by the visitors made it 5-0. Cookey-Gam and Smith each had a kill to push the margin to 7-1. Leading 8-5, head coach Glenn Cox's team embarked on a 7-0 spurt for a 10-point advantage. Pitt had three kills in the run while Lammers had two. Kayla Duggan chipped in a kill to complete the run while the home team cruised to a 25-11 win.

Leading 13-12 in the second stanza, two straight errors by YHC and two aces from McKay, along with a kill by Cookey-Gam, gave the Pacers some breathing room and an 18-12 lead. Up 19-14, Smith, Pitt and Kayla Duggan accounted for kills and Barash had an ace en route to the 25-15 victory.

Smith posted two kills and was in on a block with Pitt to jumpstart the Pacers to a 6-0 lead in the final frame. USC Aiken extended the margin to 19-9 when Meredith found the court off a pass from Kayla Duggan. Cox's group did not allow the Mountain Lions within eight the rest of the way as Pitt and Kayla Duggan finished the match with a block in the 25-14 win.  

The Pacers return to action Friday, Nov. 12, when they travel to Flagler for the regular-season finale. The match is slated to start at 6 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at PacerSports.com.