Volleyball | June 07, 2023

AIKEN, S.C. - The University of South Carolina Aiken had many thrilling moments throughout the action-packed 2022-2023 season. Whether it was on the diamond, the court, the course, the tee box or the pitch, PacerSports.com is going to relive some of those unforgettable highlights that defines the Pacers' spirit a sport at a time. 

The USC Aiken volleyball team had several highlights throughout the season. The Pacers started the season 7-1. In the second match of the season, against Catawba, Kari Mercer shattered the single-match record for digs. She eclipsed the previous record of 45 with a tremendous 49 in the four-set victory.

Head coach Glenn Cox's team went 4-0 at the USC Aiken Invitational and 3-1 at the Pacer Invitational. The squad went 2-1 at the PBC/Gulf South Crossover – with the lone loss coming in five sets.  

The team had several thrilling matches on the season, including a 3-2 win over Lander on Sept. 17 and a 3-2 victory at Flagler in the regular-season finale. 

Having won the final two matches of the regular season, USC Aiken had an abundance of momentum. The squad easily discarded Georgia College and State 3-0 before squaring off against top-seeded Augusta on the Jaguars' home court.

After winning the first set 25-22, USC Aiken lost the second frame 25-23. However, the Pacers bested AU 28-26 in the third set before taking home the victory with a 25-18 fourth-set win.

It ended a 12-match losing streak to Augusta – one in which the Pacers had only won more than one set once during that span. 

In the win, Emily Lammers turned in a 27-kill, 16-dig effort. Kaitlyn Rodriguez notched 12 kills and 11 digs while Mallory Barash dished out 44 assists and had four aces. Mercer led everyone with 24 digs. 

The win not only catapulted Cox's team into the PBC Championship, but it also propelled the team to an NCAA Tournament at-large bid for the seventh time in 10 years – and the first since 2019.

For their effort on the season, Mercer and Lammers garnered all-conference honors while Barash and Sadie McKay picked up PBC all-tournament team accolades. Mercer was honored with all-region accolades and became the first USC Aiken volleyball student-athlete to be both an All-American and an Academic All-American during a career.