Volleyball | September 06, 2022
Each week, the University of South Carolina Aiken will produce weekly notes. This week, the University of South Carolina Aiken volleyball team hits the road for three matches at the West Georgia Tournament.
Hitting The Road
After playing the first eight matches of the season at home, head coach
Glenn Cox's team hits the road for the first time of the year this weekend with three matches at the West Georgia Tournament. The Pacers – and Flagler Saints – are the last two teams to hit the road in the PBC this season.
Mental Toughness
After falling to Carson-Newman, USC Aiken dropped the first set to Francis Marion. The squad won the next two before falling in the fourth frame, setting up the deciding fifth set. Trailing 5-1, the Pacers broke serve with a kill from
Anna Sommer. Three straight points by USC Aiken knotted the score at 5-5. The squad was neck-and-neck with FMU and held a one-point edge at 13-12. After an error by the visitors, Sommer slammed the door on the match with a kill off a pass from Foster.
Slew Of Middle Blockers
Head coach
Glenn Cox talked about the depth he had in regards to middle blockers. Last weekend,
Kaitlyn Lund,
Alisha Pitt,
Abbey Schad and
Anna Sommer all had shining moments. Each one was productive and brought different attributes to the match when they were in. Schad had a 12-kill match to get things going on the week. After the team suffered a loss Friday evening, Pitt had 16 kills against Francis Marion while Sommer notched 13 against the Patriots. Lund's seven blocks against FMU also marked the most in a single match for the Pacers this year.
Balanced Attack
In the win over Mount Olive, USC Aiken had a balanced attack with four student-athletes in double figures – and three with double-double efforts.
Emily Lammers led the way with 14 kills while
Sadie McKay and Abbie Schad notched 12 kills apiece.
Kaitlyn Rodriguez had 10 kills. Lammers, Rodriguez and McKay all had double-double efforts.
Inside The Numbers
This week, USC Aiken plays at the West Georgia Tournament. The team plays Montevallo and Valdosta State on Friday, Sept. 9 before wrapping up the week on Saturday, Sept. 10 at West Georgia. Since moving to Division II, the Pacers are 206-129 (61.5 percent) in Friday matches and 243-147 (62.3 percent) in Saturday matches. During the same time, the team is 9-2 on Sept. 9 and 12-7 on Sept. 10.
Against The Opponents
This week, USC Aiken plays at the West Georgia Tournament. The team plays Montevallo and Valdosta State on Friday, Sept. 9 before wrapping up the week on Saturday, Sept. 10 at West Georgia. The Pacers are 10-10 against former PBC foe Montevallo. The team trails the all-time series to Valdosta State 5-4. The all-time series between USC Aiken and West Georgia is tied at 4-4 and the teams have not met since Sept. 9, 2011.
