FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 10-9-06

College Volleyball: AASU 3, USC Aiken 1

SAVANNAH, Ga. – The Armstrong Atlantic State volleyball squad erased an early deficit to sprint past USC Aiken in four games to move into sole possession of first place in the Peach Belt Conference standings. Game scores were: 24-30, 30-18, 30-28, 30-24.

            The Pacers (24-6, 8-1 PBC) came out on fire in the first game, breaking a 15-15 deadlock with six straight points to cruise to the first-game win. USC Aiken hit a stellar .405 in the game with 20 kills.

            The Pirates (16-12, 8-1 PBC) rebounded to take game two, 30-18, as AASU held the Pacers to a .000 hitting percentage while hitting .286 themselves. AASU took a hotly contested game three by just two points, then used the serving of junior Margaret Thornton to collect the game-four win and the match. USC Aiken libero Hayden Johnson served six straight points to give the Pacers an 11-6 lead in game four, but Thornton responded by serving eight straight points, putting the Pirates up, 19-12, and giving AASU the cushion to close out the match.

            Senior Traci Knuth led all players for the Pirates with a match-high 15 kills, while junior Rindy Vidovich added 14 kills. USC Aiken placed three players in double figure kills as Mandy Gerolstein notched 14 and Amanda Timm and Stefanie Durham each collected 13. Cheryl Barcas tallied 34 assists to lead the Pacers, while Margaret Thornton collected 23 and Stacy Yates notched 22 for the Pirates. Missy Deardorff led all players defensively for the Pacers with 19 digs, with Hayden Johnson chipping in 18. Adriana Miller led the Pirates defensively with 14 digs.

            AASU next hosts Augusta State on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. at the ARC, while USC Aiken returns to action on Friday, Oct. 27, as the Pacers host Lander at 7:00 p.m.

- Pirates -