AIKEN, S.C. – The University of South Carolina Aiken volleyball team cruised to a 3-0 victory over Francis Marion Tuesday evening.
The Pacers are now 12-4 on the season.
Head coach
Glenn Cox's team was led by
Emily Lammers' match-high 15 kills to go along with seven digs and four aces.
Sadie McKay added seven kills and eight digs while
Sophie Meredith totaled five kills, 31 assists and seven digs in addition to a pair of aces.
Anna Sommer notched five kills while
Gyöngyvér Araczki and
Lexi Rogers each added four kills.
Kari Mercer led the way with 18 digs. She added four assists and a pair of aces in the sweep.
Tied at 6-6 in the first set, Rogers slammed home a kill. Araczki followed it up with an ace. After a kill from Meredith, Araczki found the court with another ace, forcing a time-out with a 10-6 edge. Leading 13-10, an error by the visitors forced another break in the action.
Out of the time-out, Mercer served up an ace. With McKay serving, USC Aiken took a 22-14 lead. During the 5-0 spurt, McKay had two aces. Cox's team closed out the six-point win after a kill by Meredith.
The Patriots held a 13-8 lead in the second frame until a serving error gave Cox's team momentum. Two more miscues by the visitors forced a time-out. Lammers slammed home a kill before Meredith served up back-to-back aces. Lammers finished the spurt with another powerful kill, making it 15-13. Leading 19-17, McKay started a 6-1 run to end the frame. Lammers added an ace before Meredith tallied a kill. Araczki and McKay combined for a block before back-to-back errors allowed USC Aiken to close out the 25-18 win.
In an extremely tight third set, USC Aiken held an 11-10 advantage before McKay found the court for a kill. An error by FMU and an ace by Lammers pushed the margin to four, 14-10. Up 14-12, Araczki notched a kill. Up 22-20, Lammers garnered a kill before Mercer sliced the defense for an ace. Three plays later, the Patriots had another error to end the match at 25-22.
The Pacers return to action Friday when they host Georgia College & State at 6 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at PacerSports.com.