Volleyball | August 30, 2022

Each week, the University of South Carolina Aiken will produce weekly notes. This week, the University of South Carolina Aiken volleyball team has another home tournament. 

Record Breaker

It didn't take long for 2021 All-American Kari Mercer to get into the record books this season. In the four-set win over Catawba, Mercer shattered the school record for digs in a single match with 49. The mark broke the previous record of 45, which was established by Katie Toman on Oct. 31, 2015 in the win over Montevallo.

Aces High

In the win over Converse, USC Aiken registered a school-record 19 aces. Sadie McKay and Kaitlyn Rodriguez had five aces each while Emily Lammers tallied four. Kari Mercer notched three service winners while Caroline Foster and Kaitlyn Lund each got into the act with one apiece. It shattered the previous school record of 17 digs in 2004, which was also established against Converse.

Making Her Presence Felt

Newcomer Kaitlyn Lund made her presence felt all weekend long. She's averaging 3.00 points/set and has 34 kills on the season. Lund is hitting .329 while also chipping in one ace on the year. Lund also has one solo block and has assisted six others this year. She's also been able to deflect and slow down attacks, helping the back line out as well.

Mental Focus

Trailing 9-1 in the second set against Lenoir-Rhyne, head coach Glenn Cox's team remained focused on winning the next point. Abbey Schad and Kaitlyn Rodriguez each had kills, slicing the deficit to six at 9-3. The team still trailed 19-13 before posting two points. Down 21-16, Kaitlyn Lund tallied an ace. Two miscues by the Bears pulled the squad within three at 22-19. Trailing 24-21, USC Aiken broke the Bears' serve with a kill from Schad. Emily Lammers and Sadie McKay had kills, tying the set at 24-24. Down 29-28, L-R's bad serve tied it at 29-29. Another miscue by the visitors gave USC Aiken a one-point edge before Lammers and Schad blocked an attempt, securing the two-point win.

Seeing Time

Last week, 13 of the 16 student-athletes on the roster saw time on the court. This included both freshmen newcomers in Tucker Patterson and Anna Sommer. Patterson saw time in the victory over Converse. Sommer got on the court in the wins over Barton and Converse while slamming home six kills.

Inside The Numbers

This week, USC Aiken hosts Mount Olive and Carson-Newman on Friday, Sept. 2 before hosting Francis Marion and North Greenville on Saturday, Sept. 3. Since moving to Division II, the Pacers are 205-128 (61.6 percent) in Friday contests and 241-147 (62.1 percent) in Saturday matches. During the same time, USC Aiken is 12-4 on Sept. 2 and 8-6 on Sept. 3.  

Series History

This week, USC Aiken hosts Mount Olive and Carson-Newman on Friday, Sept. 2 before hosting Francis Marion and North Greenville on Saturday, Sept. 3. The Pacers are 7-3 in the all-time series against the Trojans. The squad is 9-7 in the series against the Eagles. USC Aiken is 49-26 in the all-time series against the Patriots. The Pacers are 10-0 in the all-time series against the Crusaders.