AIKEN, S.C. – The University of South Carolina Aiken volleyball team picked up a pair of wins Friday at the USC Aiken Invitational. The team swept Barton before knocking off Catawba in four sets.

The Pacers are now 2-0 on the season.

In the opener against Barton, head coach Glenn Cox's team was paced by Sadie McKay's match-high 10 kills. Kaitlyn Rodriguez narrowly missed a double-double with 11 digs and nine kills. Abbey Schad returned to the court for the first time since 2019 and posted six kills, five digs and a career-high seven aces. 

Emily Lammers contributed six kills while newcomer Kaitlyn Lund tallied five kills and a pair of blocks. Fellow newcomer Anna Sommer totaled four kills and a pair of digs while hitting .667. Mallory Barash posted a match-best 28 assists to go along with seven digs and four kills. 

In the opening set, the frame was knotted throughout. Trailing 19-18, McKay served up an ace. An attack error by the visitors and a kill from Lund pushed the score to 21-19. The Bulldogs pulled within one at 23-22 but Lammers hammered home a pass from Barash before Rodriguez garnered a kill off a pass from Mercer.

USC Aiken cruised in the second set, taking an 18-8 lead on an ace by Mercer. Barton pulled within seven but Schad stuffed an attempt to make it 21-12. Leading 22-13 after a kill from McKay, two errors from the Bulldogs and an ace from Schad ended the frame at 25-13. 

The Bulldogs held the third set close and Cox's team maintained just a one-point edge at 19-18. However, Caroline Foster found Rodriguez for a kill. The teams traded points before Schad's sensational kill pushed the score to 22-19. Leading 23-19, Schad registered another kill before Barash ended the match with an ace.

In the nightcap against the Indians, Mercer shattered the school record for digs in a match with 49. She narrowly missed a double-double with nine assists.

Rodriguez led the offense with 14 kills to go along with nine digs. Lammers tallied 12 kills while Schad slammed home 10. Lammers earned a double-double with 13 digs. 

Barash notched a double-double with 39 assists and 17 digs. Defensively, McKay garnered 13 digs. 

In the first set, USC Aiken held a 21-20 lead before Lammers put away a pass and Mercer had an ace. Up 24-21, Lammers finished the set with a thunderous kill.

After dropping the second set 28-26, Cox's team bounced back strong in the third frame. The team jumped out to a 10-point edge at 16-6 after an error by the visitors. The team was not challenged in the set in the 25-12 victory.

The fourth stanza was back-and-forth in the early going. Tied at 11-11, Rodriguez hammered home a kill and was in on a block with Schad. An ace put the team up 14-11. Catawba made it close at the end but a point by Rodriguez ended the match. 

The Pacers have a quick turnaround and will take on Converse tomorrow at 12 p.m. USC Aiken hosts Lenoir-Rhyne Saturday night in the finale of the tournament at 7:30 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at PacerSports.com.