WINGATE, N.C. – The No. 7 USCA volleyball team saw its season come to an end against No. 2 Lander with a 3-0 loss in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament Friday.

The Pacers conclude the season with a 12-9 ledger. 

Set scores were 25-16, 25-20, 25-23.

Head coach Glenn Cox's team was led by Gyöngyvér Araczki's eight kills and .438 attack percentage. Kaitlyn Rodriguez added seven kills while Emily Lammers totaled six. Chloe Duzenack contributed five kills while Tucker Patterson notched four. Anna Sommer and Sidney Hogan chipped in three and two, respectively.

Hogan dished out a team-best 15 assists and Tabor Scanlon totaled 11.

Defensively, Sommer posted four blocks, including two solo stops. Patterson added three blocks while Araczki was in on one block.

Izabella De Lima led the way with 12 digs. Lammers and Ana Cate Loftus each provided eight digs.

In the first set, a service error by the Bearcats and a kill from Lammers knotted the score at 4-4. Down 11-6, Sommer posted back-to-back kills. Trailing 14-10, Sommer and Araczki each scored points, bringing the visitors within two at 14-12. Lander rattled off a 5-0 spurt and took the set 25-16.

A block from Patterson gave USCA a 1-0 lead in the second stanza. Another block from Patterson, this time alongside Sommer, gave the Pacers a 3-1 edge. Trailing 6-5, Araczki slammed home a kill before teaming up with Duzenack for a block. Duzenack's kill and an error by Lander pushed the advantage to three, 9-6. LU embarked on a 10-2 spurt before a kill by Lammers stopped the run. 

Down 17-12, Rodriguez and Patterson notched back-to-back points. An error by the home team pulled the Pacers within two, 17-15. With the score at 20-16, Rodriguez and Araczki slammed home passes from Hogan, but that was as close as USCA could get the rest of the way in the 25-20 loss. 

Facing a 3-1 deficit in the third set, Patterson garnered back-to-back points. A kill from Araczki gave the Pacers a 4-3 lead. Lander took a 15-12 lead before Rodriguez split the defense for a kill. Araczki pulled the team within one at 15-14. Trailing 16-14, Rodriguez took a pass from Scanlon and found the court. After a miscue by the Bearcats, Duzenack's kill propelled the Pacers to a 17-16 advantage.

The back-and-forth affair saw LU hold a 20-19 lead before Araczki posted a kill and served up an ace. USCA fell behind 23-22, but Sommer's block tied the set. Two straight points from the Bearcats ended the match.

For the match, USCA tallied 35 kills and hit .162. The squad had 32 assists. The Pacers garnered 46 digs in the contest.