Tampa Ends USC Aiken's Season in NCAA Tournament

TAMPA, Fla.—Making the program’s second-straight NCAA Division II Volleyball Tournament appearance, the eighth-seeded USC Aiken Lady Pacers (26-5) challenged second-ranked and top-seeded Tampa (29-2) before falling 3-0 in the opening round of the South Regional at the Bob Martinez Sports Complex. Game scores were 30-23, 30-21, and 30-25. The Spartans improve to 8-0 all-time versus the Lady Pacers. After opening the season 4-3, the Lady Pacers closed their 2007 season by winning 22 of their final 24 games.

Tampa, the defending Division II National Champions, is making its 23rd NCAA Tournament appearance and serving as host of the regional for the 15th time. The 2007 Sunshine State Conference champions are looking to advance to the Elite Eight as region champs for the third-straight season.

Erin Clark led a Tampa attack that hit .384 and held the Lady Pacers to .150 percentage. Clark, the Sunshine State Conference Player of the Year, tallied 15 kills and four blocks, hitting .682.

Senior Mandy Gerolstein showed why she was the 2007 Peach Belt Conference Player of the Year with 12 kills and hitting .296.

In game one, Gerolstein and Amanda Timm had two kills each in a 6-0 run that pulled the Lady Pacers out of a 24-15 hole and forced a Tampa timeout at 24-21. A USCA attack error, however, tilted things back in favor of the Spartans as UT scored six of the game’s final eight points for a 30-23 victory.

USC Aiken led briefly at 2-1 before the two teams alternated scoring until UT made it 7-7 and ignited a 6-0 run to lead 12-7. The Spartans opened with seven kills on 12 attacks for a .583 hitting percentage, but cooled off to a .425 clip for the set.

The Lady Pacers hit a strong .289 behind five kills from Gerolstein. Clark fueled Tampa in the opening stanza hitting .700 with seven kills.

A quick 6-2 start by Tampa knocked USCA on their heels early in game two. After settling down, an ace by Jasmine Edney pulled the Lady Pacers within 12-9. Trailing by the same margin, 17-14, the Spartans took command with a 7-1 run keyed by three kills and a service ace from Clark.

Gerolstein and Stefanie Durham each had three kills to lead USC Aiken, but the team struggled to a negative .053 hitting percentage. Tampa hit .237 in the set and posted a side-out percentage of 80. Clark hit .714 with five kills and three blocks during the frame.

USCA bounced back early in game three to grab an 8-4 lead after rattling off five-straight points. It would mark the team’s largest lead of the match. After an Edney kill made it 10-6, Tampa scored seven of the next nine points to retake the lead 13-12 on one of the team’s 10.5 blocks in the match.

The Lady Pacers briefly regained the lead, but a 3-0 spurt highlighted by a Katelen Dixon kill and block put UT ahead for good 17-15. USCA pulled within 24-22 after a kill by Missy Deardorff, but could not get any closer.

Durham, a 2007 PBC All-Conference performer, also turned in a solid outing with eight kills and a team-high 13 digs. Edney added five kills.

Alisha Green recorded 11 kills and three blocks for UT while Katelen Dixon chipped in 10 kills and four blocks.

Over the past two years, USC Aiken has posted a 54-12 overall record including a 22-2 record in conference play, winning back-to-back PBC regular season and Tournament titles, and making the program’s first two NCAA Tournament Appearances.

USC Aiken loses six seniors next year in Gerolstein, Edney, Timm, Deardorff, Veronica Seidle and Christina Greene. Back however are starting sophomore setter Lauren Cedeno and Durham, the league’s top outside hitter.

After playing in one of the nation’s toughest regions for the past several years, the Lady Pacers will move into the South Atlantic Region beginning next year.

USC Aiken’s 26 wins are tied for the third most in the program’s 17-year NCAA era. The five losses are the fewest since the inaugural team went 23-3 in 1978 while the .839 winning percentage is second only to that same season.

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