AIKEN, S.C. – The University of South Carolina Aiken volleyball team recorded a pair of wins Saturday at the Pacer Invitational, defeating Francis Marion and Belmont Abbey by 3-1 scores.

The Pacers are now 8-0 on the season.

Alie Smith led the way with a 19-kill, 11-dig performance for a double-double. Sadie McKay narrowly missed out on a triple-double with 10 kills, 10 digs and eight aces. Anita Cookey-Gam was on fire, slamming home 11 kills while hitting an absurd .476. Alisha Pitt chipped in six kills while hitting .353.

Caroline Foster distributed 42 assists and had seven digs while Kari Mercer accounted for a match-high 27 digs. Lily Andrews registered 15 digs to go along with a pair of aces.

In the first set, FMU knotted the score at 23-23, but head coach Glenn Cox's team quickly responded with kills by McKay and Pitt to close out the 25-23 set.

Trailing 19-15 in the second stanza, Cox's group put forth a fast and furious comeback. McKay slammed home a kill. An error by the Patriots made it 19-17. McKay served up two aces, tying the frame at 19-19. Two more miscues by FMU made it 21-19. Leading 21-20, Smith found the court for a kill. Two plays later, Mercer made it 24-20 with an ace. Mercer then finished the frame off a back-row kill from her libero position.  

After losing the third set, USC Aiken finished things off in the fourth stanza. Down 6-5, Cookey-Gam and McKay had back-to-back aces, sparking a 5-0 spurt. Up 13-12, the visitors posted back-to-back errors, giving USC Aiken a 15-12 lead. McKay had aces on two of the next three plays en route to an 18-12 lead the squad would not relinquish.

In the nightcap, Pitt led the way with 15 kills to go along with five blocks. Cookey-Gam notched 13 kills while hitting .385 and Smith posted another double-double with 11 kills and 12 digs. McKay accounted for eight kills and seven digs.

Foster dished out 33 assists. She added five digs and three aces. Defensively, Mercer led everyone with 23 digs. At the net, Emily Lammers was in on four blocks in the win.

In the opening set, USC Aiken broke open the frame with four out of five points for a 12-5 lead. Lammers, Smith and Cookey-Gam all had kills in the run. Moments later, the Pacers extended the lead to 10 at 21-11 when Cookey-Gam found the court to make it 22-11. Cox's group ended the frame when Lammers and Pitt combined for a block in the 25-15 victory.

The second stanza was close, but the home team embarked on an 11-2 spurt to end the set quickly. Three of the 11 points during the run were via service aces in the 25-12 win.

After dropping the third set, USC Aiken bounced back for a 25-12 win in the deciding frame. Leading 8-5, an error helped swing momentum to the home team. Pitt reeled off three kills in four points for a 12-6 advantage. Smith chipped in a kill and Mercer had an ace in the run, pushing the margin to 13 at 20-7. Up 22-12, Emily Duggan garnered an ace and Pitt had a kill before an error by the Crusaders ended the match.

The Pacers return to action Friday when they play Montevallo in the PBC/Gulf South Crossover in Milledgeville, Ga. The match is slated to start at 2 p.m.