AIKEN, S.C. - The Newberry College volleyball team completed its regular season play with a match against the USC Aiken Lady Pacers. Newberry (18-15) dropped the opening set but evened the match with a victory in the second. USC Aiken (15-17) controlled the rest of the match; however, and won by scores of 25-20, 19-25, 25-23, 25-22.

The first set opened with the teams exchanging points en route to a 7-7 tie before the Lady Pacers opened it up with a 5-0 run. Newberry methodically worked their way back into the match and pulled within one, but could never draw even. The Lady Pacers held off the comeback and took the opening set.

Newberry climbed out to an early lead in the second set, but another 5-0 Lady Pacer run evened the match at 9-9. Lorena Maia (Belo Horizonte, Brazil) won a couple of points for the scarlet and gray with her serving and built the lead up again. Blair Browning (New Lexington, Ohio) took the ball to the service line with a 22-19 lead and didn't give it back, winning four consecutive points to win the second set.

The third set was the tightest of the match, with the teams evening the score 13 times before it was over. The set was close the entire way, and neither team held a lead of more than four points the entire set. Maia again came up with a late kill to even the score at 22-22. Newberry was plagued by attack errors down the stretch; however, and let the set slip away.

Newberry would find themselves playing catch-up volleyball in the third set after letting the Lady Pacers escape with a 9-5 lead. The scarlet and gray worked to close the gap, but trailed by four or five points for the majority of the set. They finally pulled within 2 at 24-22, but were unable to hold off the Lady Pacers and dropped the match.

Maia gave her second best night on the season with 16 kills. The senior outside hitter bettered that mark only once this year, with 17 kills on September 26, 2009, against Tusculum. Maia also had 2 service aces. Texans Kember Lichtie (Amarillo, Texas) and Brianna Blakely (Houston, Texas) shared the lead in digs with 16 as well.

Newberry will now prepare for the Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Volleyball Tournament this weekend. The scarlet and gray enter the tournament as the sixth seed and will face off against the third-seeded Lincoln Memorial on Friday, November 13, at 7:30 p.m.