AIKEN, S.C. – The University of South Carolina Aiken volleyball team recorded 3-0 wins over UNC Pembroke and North Greenville Saturday.

The Pacers are now 4-0 on the season.

Set scores against the Braves were 25-12, 25-20, 25-19. Alie Smith led everyone with a 16-kill, nine-dig performance. She added five aces while hitting an outstanding .433. Alisha Pitt hit .385 with six kills while Sadie McKay garnered five kills and eight digs. 

Caroline Foster dished out 32 assists while Kari Mercer led everyone with 23 digs. She also chipped in four aces. 

As a team, the squad served up 15 aces, marking the sixth most in a match in school history. Smith and Mercer had five and four, respectively, while McKay added three. Lily Andrews totaled two aces to go along with her 10 digs while Emily Duggan chipped in one ace.

Leading 13-8 in the first set, Smith hammered home two kills while McKay served up two aces to make it 17-8. Moments later, Foster found the court for a kill prior to Mercer tallying an ace for a 20-9 edge. The team cruised to the 25-12 win.

Trailing 10-6 in the second set, Brooke Wroten slammed home a kill. McKay added a kill and two plays later, Wroten made it 11-10 with another kill. Down 12-10, an error by the Braves and a block from Pitt knotted the score. Mercer's ace gave the home team a one-point edge. Leading 20-19, a miscue by UNCP gave head coach Glenn Cox's team some breathing room. Foster and Smith had kills to make it 23-19. Two plays later, Smith found the court for the 25-20 win.

A service error by the visitors pushed the score to 8-4 in the third set. Back-to-back kills from McKay pushed the advantage to 10-6. USC Aiken kept the visitors at bay the rest of the way. Smith's kill made it 22-16. A few plays later, Smith ended the match with a kill.

In the nightcap, Smith tied the school record for kills in a three-set match with 22. She tied Jenny Lloyd's mark against Fayetteville State from Oct. 16, 2004. Smith also added eight digs in the win while hitting .545.

Pitt slammed home 12 kills and hit a blistering .391 in the win. Cookey-Gam and McKay each had four kills while Bodick tallied three.  

Foster distributed a match-high 43 assists. Defensively, Mercer led the way with 18 digs. Foster and McKay had seven and six, respectively. 

Leading 24-20 in the first set, USC Aiken saw the visitors reel off three straight points before Smith connected with Foster for the set-winning point.

Trailing 22-21 in the second frame, Pitt knotted the score with a kill. After a miscue by the Crusaders, Smith found the court for a 24-22 lead. Mercer found the sweet spot on the court for an ace, securing the three-point victory.

Up 12-7 in the third set, Smith recorded a kill, sparking a 6-0 spurt to put the set and match away. During the run, she had three kills while McKay and Cookey-Gam each had one. Foster completed the run with an ace. Smith secured the final two points of the match en route to tying the school mark.  

The Pacers return to action Friday against Limestone at 2 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at PacerSports.com.