AIKEN, S.C. – The University of South Carolina Aiken volleyball team cruised to a 3-0 victory over Georgia College & State Thursday evening in the regular-season finale.

The Pacers are now 16-9 on the season, including 4-8 in league play.

Head coach Glenn Cox's team was led by Gyöngyvér Araczki's match-high 16 kills while posting a .560 attack percentage. Sadie McKay added 11 kills and seven digs while Lexi Rogers notched 10 kills, eight digs and two blocks. Alisha Pitt was also outstanding, accounting for seven kills and a block while hitting a match-best .636. Emily Lammers chipped in five kills and five digs in the win.

Mallory Barash recorded a double-double with 36 assists and 12 digs to go along with two aces and two kills in her final home match. Fellow senior Kari Mercer concluded her career in the Convocation Center with a match-best 23 digs. She added seven assists and two aces.

Trailing 11-6 in the early going, a ball handling error gave the Pacers a side-out. Two plays later, Barash found a spot in the middle of the court for a kill. Down 16-10, McKay got USC Aiken going with a kill. Lammers, Pitt and Rogers followed her up with kills, forcing a time-out. Following the break, an error pulled the home team within one at 16-15. 

Down 18-15, Rogers hammered home a kill. Mercer dropped back to serve and promptly registered an ace. Back-to-back kills from Araczki and an error by GCSU made it 20-18 while forcing another time-out. After the break, Araczki pushed the margin to three, 21-18. Leading 21-19, Araczki posted back-to kills. Up 24-20, Araczki finished the set with the kill.

Cox's team took control early in the second stanza. Up 11-8, Rogers found the court for a point. Lammers and Araczki notched kills to make it 14-8. Leading 16-11, Araczki tallied back-to-back kills. The Pacers continued to stretch their lead. Up 19-14, Pitt recorded a kill. Moments later, an ace by Barash and a point from Lammers made it 23-14. McKay and Rogers accounted for the final two points for USC Aiken in the 25-16 win.

USC Aiken held a 5-3 edge in the third frame before an error by the visitors. On the ensuing play, Araczki and Rogers blocked an attempt. A third error in a row by GCSU pushed the score to 8-3. Leading 8-5, Araczki found the court on back-to-back plays before stuffing an attempt to give the home team an 11-5 edge.

The Pacers embarked on a 6-2 run for a 17-8 lead late in the set. The visitors made a run to pull within three at 19-16 but Rogers answered with two kills while the Bobcats committed another error. Up 24-22, Pitt finished the match with a kill. 

USC Aiken hit .264 for the match while holding GCSU to .092. The home team hit .406 in the second stanza. 

The Pacers return to action in the PBC Tournament. Pairings will be announced after the conclusion of the regular season.