AIKEN, S.C.--Francis Marion (14-7, 5-1 PBC) rallied from the brink of defeat to stun the homestanding USC Aiken Lady Pacers (14-8, 3-4 PBC) 3-2 in a key Peach Belt Conference showdown on Saturday afternoon at “The Courthouse”. Already down two games to none, the Patriots trailed 29-26 in game three, but one point from defeat, FMU battled back to win the game and the match. Game scores were 30-32, 23-30, 33-31, 30-24, and 15-10.

Jenny Lloyd led the Lady Pacers with her fifth career 30-kill match. The senior captain from Fife, Wash. notched 31 kills to go with 17 digs and one solo block for 32.0 points. Freshman Veronica Seidle added a career-best with 20 kills, 13 digs, and three aces for 23.0 points. Mandy Gerolstein chipped in 13 kills and two blocks. Laura Williams and Missy Deardorff combined on four of the team’s 7.0 total blocks.

As a team, USC Aiken out hit FMU .285 to .225. Blocks and aces were even at 7.0 and nine respectively, but a crucial difference was once again the Lady Pacers’ service errors. They committed 15 compared to seven for the Patriots.

Kelly Feber and Lezlie Logan each tallied 19 kills to lead the Patriots. Michelle Settergren added 14 kills and three blocks while Jackie Phiel recorded 15 kills and a .542 hitting percentage. Setter Melissa Hennessy registered 14 digs and two aces to go with her 62 assists.

Game one was tight as expected between the evenly matched teams. USCA made a 5-0 run to turn an 8-6 deficit into an 11-8 lead, but Francis Marion battled back with the score tied up for the eighth time in the game at 18-18. Trailing 21-20, FMU rattled off the next seven points to surge ahead 26-21. But two of Jessica Lane’s four service aces on the afternoon fueled a 5-0 run that leveled the game at 26-26. The score was tied at 28, 29, and 30 before a Seidle kill and then a dramatic Lloyd solo block gave game one to USCA 32-30.

USC Aiken took control midway through game two and never looked back. Five consecutive kills pushed the advantage to 17-11 and a later 7-1 run made it 25-16 as the Lady Pacers won 30-23.

In the pivotal game three, the Lady Pacers lead early before the Patriots tied the game at 12-12 on a Feber kill. Williams’ kill set up match point for the Lady Pacers at 29-26. Following a service error, however, FMU had new life. Jessica Barlett and Settergren sandwiched kills around a Phiel ace to take a 30-29 lead. Back-to-back Lloyd kills gave USCA another opportunity to win the match leading 31-30, but Feber and Logan had kills to stay alive 33-31.

Francis Marion capitalized on their momentum in game four pushing ahead 20-13 and holding on for the 30-24 win.

In the fifth and final game, the two teams traded points, but then a 3-0 Patriot run made it 4-1. USCA kept the deficit at three up until 11-8, but FMU won four of the final six points to take the match 15-10.

USC Aiken will travel to Florence, S.C. for their next action when they participate in the FMU Quad-Match on Saturday, October 16. USCA will face Fayetteville State at 1:00 PM followed by West Georgia at 3:00 PM. Francis Marion will host Newberry College on Tuesday, October 12 at 7:00 PM.

Short Box Score (Match)
Francis Marion vs USC Aiken (Oct 9, 2004 at Aiken, S.C.)
Francis Marion def. USC Aiken 30-32,23-30,33-31,30-24,15-10

Francis Marion (14-7, 5-1 PBC) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Logan, Lezlie 19-1-3; Feber, Kelly 19-2-1; Phiel, Jackie 15-0-1; Settergren, Michelle 14-0-3; Bartlett, Jessica 4-0-2; Strader, Jessica 1-2-0; Matthews, Rachael 0-2-0; Hennessy, Melissa 0-2-0; Totals 72-9-7.0. (Assists) - Hennessy, Melissa 62. (Dig leaders) - Strader, Jessica 25; Hennessy, Melissa 14; Phiel, Jackie 11; Matthews, Rachael 10; Feber, Kelly 9.

USC Aiken (14-8, 3-4 PBC) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Lloyd, Jenny 31-0-1; Seidle, Veronica 20-3-0; Gerolstein, Mandy 13-0-2; Williams, Laura 7-0-4; Deardorff, Missy 5-0-5; Dalitz, Rachel 1-1-0; Lane, Jessica 0-4-0; Gayle, Brandi 0-1-0; Totals 77-9-7.0. (Assists) - Dalitz, Rachel 61. (Dig leaders) - Dalitz, Rachel 18; Lloyd, Jenny 17; Gayle, Brandi 15; Seidle, Veronica 13; Deardorff, Missy 11.

Site: Aiken, S.C. (The Courthouse)
Date: Oct 09, 2004 Attend: 80 Time: 2:25

Boxscore