AIKEN, S.C. – The University of South Carolina Aiken volleyball team lost a 3-1 match to Augusta Tuesday evening in a PBC contest.

The Pacers are now 14-6 overall, including 2-5 in league play.

Head coach Glenn Cox's team was led by Emily Lammers and Sadie McKay as each tallied 12 kills. Both also notched 12 digs for double-doubles. Lexi Rogers narrowly missed a double-double with 12 digs and nine kills. 

Mallory Barash totaled 33 assists and 18 digs to go along with five kills in a double-double effort. Alisha Pitt led the defense at the net with three blocks.

On the back line, Kari Mercer posted a team-best 18 digs. She also chipped in six assists.

Trailing 3-0 in the early going, Lammers got things going with a kill. With McKay dropping back to serve, USC Aiken rattled off eight straight points. McKay had two aces during the run while Lammers and Rogers had kills. Alisha Pitt and Rogers combined for a block.

Up 15-10, an error gave the side-out back to the Pacers. Three errors by the visitors and a kill from Pitt made it 20-10. With the score at 24-17 in favor of USC Aiken, McKay throttled a pass from Barash for the set-winning point.  

Down 14-7 in the second stanza, McKay smashed a pass from Barash. Lammers followed it up with back-to-back kills to pull within four, 14-10. USC Aiken faced a 21-14 deficit but a service error pulled the team within six. Gyöngyvér Araczki garnered one of her seven kills. However, the Jaguars answered with a point. The Pacers managed a kill from McKay but that was as close as they would get in the 25-17 loss.

In the tightly contested third frame, USC Aiken took a 10-8 lead after a kill from McKay and a block from Lammers and Pitt. Tied at 10-10, Lammers once again found the court. Down 15-12, Lammers and Kaitlyn Rodriguez each accounted for points to make it a one-point contest. 

The visitors held a 22-17 lead but Cox's team continued to play tough. An error by the Jaguars gave the serve back to the home team. A kill from Lammers and an error by AU made it 22-20. However, the Jaguars held on for a 25-21 win.

Leading 5-4 in the fourth set, Rogers and Araczki each had kills for a three-point margin. Down 14-9, McKay gave momentum to the home squad with a kill. Rogers registered back-to-back points before McKay served up an ace to make it 15-13. The teams traded the next two points but the Jaguars went on a 4-0 spurt en route to the 25-17 victory.  

The Pacers return to action Friday when they host Lander at 6 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at PacerSports.com.