AIKEN, S.C. - The Lady Pacers had never lost at the USC Aiken Convocation Center. That is, until Newberry came to town. The Newberry College volleyball team won two matches Friday at the USC Aiken Invitational and handed the USC Aiken Lady Pacers their first ever loss on their home court.

In their opening match, the scarlet and gray swept the St. Andrews Presbyterian Knights, 3-0 (25-11, 25-20, 25-16), before beating the Lady Pacers, 3-1 (25-15, 18-25, 26-24, 25-22).

Kara Harris (Grandview, Texas) played well on both offense and defense against the Knights. She racked up 10 digs and finished the match with a .400 attack percentage on 10 attacks. The star of the second match was Priscila Sales (Belo Horizonte, Brazil), who had a match high 18 kills.

The scarlet and gray took on the Knights first and started the tournament with a bang. After being tied at 7-all in the opening set, NC went on a 16-3 run that included service aces by Brianna Blakely (Houston, Texas) and Lorena Maia (Belo Horizonte). Newberry would go on to win the set, 25-11. Newberry's offense was dominant and had a much higher attack percentage in the first set (.389 to -.130). Maia had her best set in the first with a team high four digs and a .667 attack percentage.

The Knights looked like a completely different team in the second set as the match became more competitive for Newberry. While the set was tied at 14-all, Newberry went on a quick 6-2 run to build a small lead. The Knights attempted to spark a comeback, but an ace by Kember Lichtie (Amarillo, Texas) sealed the set victory for the scarlet and gray by the score of 25-20. Nadia Andrade (Belo Horizonte, Brazil) led her team on defense in the second set with a team high nine digs. She finished the match with a total of 12 digs.

In the final set of the match the scarlet and gray were caught off guard and fell behind early. Despite the setback, Newberry kept their composure and finished the match strong. After being down by four points, Newberry finished on a 19-6 run and won, 25-16. Sales had a solid third set with a team high five kills. In the end she finished with a match high 11 total kills.

In the USC Aiken match, Newberry came out strong in the opening set and won the first seven points. From there on out, the Newberry defense kept the Lady Pacers at bay and refused to let them back in the set. The scarlet and gray would win the set, 25-15. Lichtie led her squad on defense with a team high five digs in the first set. She finished the match with nine digs, five kills and an ace.

Newberry continued its strong play into the second set, but could not gain an early advantage. Newberry and USC Aiken were neck and neck throughout most of the set and at one point were tied 16-all. Unfortunately for Newberry, the Lady Pacers then went on a 9-2 run to beat the scarlet and gray, 25-18. Despite the loss, Andrade had her best set of the night in the second with 11 digs. She finished the match with 29 digs.

The Lady Pacers took advantage of their momentum in the third set and came out to an early lead. They managed to fight off the scarlet and gray for most of the set and at one point led 20-15. Refusing to give in, Newberry fought back and tied up the set at 24-all. NC then won the next two points to win in comeback fashion, 26-24. Dani Hroblak (Lake Wylie, S.C.) was a huge help to her team's set victory with 2.5 blocks and a .667 attack percentage.

As they did in the third, the scarlet and gray found themselves down early in the final set. This time around, their comeback came earlier in the set as they tied it at 14-all. The Lady Pacers kept it close for the remainder of the set but NC gained a three point advantage at the right time and won, 25-22. Blakely had a solid fourth set with nine assists and five digs. She finished the night with a double-double of 37 assists and 12 digs.

With the two wins, the Newberry College volleyball team now stands 6-2 overall. Newberry will finish up the USC Aiken Invitational tomorrow morning when it takes on Valdosta State at 10 a.m. and the University of Charleston (W. Va.) at 12:30 p.m.