AIKEN – The Lander volleyball suffered its first defeat of the season Wednesday night when the Bearcats fell to USC Aiken, 3-1, in the Peach Belt Conference opener for both teams at the Convocation Center. The Pacers won, 21-25, 25-16, 25-16, 28-26.

Lander is now 3-1 overall and 0-1 in the PBC, while USC Aiken moves to 4-1, 1-0.

Julia Ferreira-Alves and Hannah Dederick totaled 12 kills each for Lander, while Kristen Dodge and Jessica Register had 14 and 12 assists respectively. Alves led the team in digs with 17, while Register added 11 and Kiki Hennessey 10.

The Pacers were led by Amanda Bologna (32 assists), Taylor Stratton (14 kills, 10 digs), Shawn Hotson (14 kills, 22 digs), Leah Rodgers (10 kills), Hannah Tierney (10 kills) and Danielle Mercer (20 digs).