Volleyball | June 10, 2022
Throughout June, Pacer Athletics will feature a Top Moment for each sport from the 2021-22 academic year. The fourth Top Moment comes from the volleyball program.
Down multiple impact student-athletes at the start of the season, head coach
Glenn Cox's team jumped out to a 10-0 start to the season. The team swept the USC Aiken Invitational, losing just one set on the weekend. The squad bested Converse, Carson-Newman, UNC Pembroke and North Greenville.
The ensuing weekend, the team went 4-0 at the Pacer Invitational, knocking off Limestone, Coker, Francis Marion and Belmont Abbey.
USC Aiken won the first two matches at the PBC/Gulf South Crossover, defeating Montevallo and West Alabama.
"Despite all of the adversity from injuries, I am proud of the way the team fought all season, had players step up and play positions they had never played, and we were able to start the season off 10-0," Cox said. " I am also super proud of the work ethic of our injured players, with the guidance of our hard-working athletic training staff and strength coach, were able to achieve this past year to get them back on the floor."
Below are a couple of recaps throughout the outstanding start to the year.
USC Aiken Invitational
AIKEN, S.C. – The University of South Carolina Aiken volleyball team recorded a pair of victories Friday, defeating Converse 3-0 and Carson-Newman 3-1.
The Pacers are now 2-0 on the season.
In the opener against Converse, head coach
Glenn Cox's team rolled to a 25-11 victory in the first set. The squad won 25-19, 25-19 over the final two frames.
For the match,
Alie Smith led the way with 10 kills and 12 digs for a double-double effort.
Alisha Pitt had eight kills while hitting .316 while
Anita Cookey-Gam chipped in with five kills. Newcomers
Brooke Wroten and
Emily Lammers each had three kills.
Caroline Foster distributed a match-best 22 assists while
Mallory Barash chipped in five.
Defensively,
Kari Mercer led everyone with 26 digs. Foster tallied eight digs while
Sadie McKay notched four in her collegiate debut. At the net, Pitt led the way with four total blocks while Smith and Wroten added two block assists apiece.
Tied at 2-2 in the first set, Smith slammed home a kill, starting a 7-0 run. During the spurt, Smith added another kill while Cookey-Gam and Pit each had a kill. Foster chipped in an ace. McKay's kill pushed the margin to 16-6. Leading 19-11, a miscue by Converse sparked a 6-0 run to end the set for the home team. Smith ended the frame with an ace.
Leading 13-10 in the second stanza, Wroten and Pitt notched back-to-back kills before Mercer served up an ace. Up 19-16, McKay tallied a kill while
Emily Duggan posted an ace. Leading 23-19, the visitors recorded an attack error before Foster and Wroten blocked an attack for the six-point victory.
USC Aiken led 19-14 in the third frame and back-to-back miscues by Converse made it 21-14. Lammers and Wroten were in for a block, pushing the advantage to eight. Moments later, Barash found Lammers for a kill. Up 24-19, Barash fed Smith for the final point of the match.
In the nightcap, McKay and Smith shared match-high honors with 16 kills apiece. Both had 12 digs each for double-double efforts. Wroten tallied nine kills while Pitt chipped in six.
Foster distributed a match-best 43 assists. At the service line, McKay lit up the opposition with five of the team's 14 aces.
Defensively, Mercer led the way with 22 digs. Andrews garnered 15 digs.
At the net, Pitt notched two block assists while Wroten accounted for the squad's lone solo block.
Down 7-6 in the first set, an attack error by the Eagles knotted the score at 7-7. Andrews served up an ace, giving the Pacers a one-point edge. McKay accounted for three of the team's net four points for a 12-7 lead. Another ace pushed it to 13-7. USC Aiken extended the margin to 23-11 when Foster sliced the defense with an ace. Moments later, Cookey-Gam ended the set with a kill at 25-13.
Leading 13-8 in the second set, Wroten's kill sparked a 5-0 run. McKay notched a kill and an ace for an 18-8 advantage. Up by eight at 21-13, the squads essentially traded points as Wroten found the floor for the final kill in the 25-16 victory.
After dropping the third set and trailing in the early going of the fourth frame, USC Aiken knotted the contest at 17-17 behind McKay's thunderous kill. An attack error by the Eagles made it 18-17.
USC Aiken trailed 19-18 before Smith hammered home a kill. Tied at 20-20, Wroten took a pass from Foster and tipped home a point. A miscue by C-N made it 22-20. McKay served up an ace. Two plays later, Smith ended the match with a kill and the 25-20 victory.
Pacer Invitational
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 Andrewsregistered 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.
Top Moment: Men's Cross Country
Top Moment: Women's Soccer
Top Moment: Men's Soccer
Top Moment: Volleyball
