AIKEN, S.C. --- Sarah Bouley and Rachel Garnett registered nine kills apiece, but Tusculum College dropped its final match of the PBC/SAC Crossover volleyball event to USC Aiken 3-1 (14-25, 25-13, 25-17, 25-16) on Saturday morning.

Melissa Mazur led the Tusculum (7-9) defensive effort with 21 digs while Bouley added 14. Sabrina Schleuger and Laryssa Welch found the floor on seven kills each while Mariah Lewis added five. Hannah Berling dished out 29 assists with nine digs.

Ashley Diedrich paced USC Aiken (14-3) with a match-high 21 kills while Aly Johnson finished with 12. Five Pacers registered double-figure digs led by a match-high 23 from Katie Toman. Emily Teelon handed out a match-high 34 assists and had a double-double with 11 digs.

The Pioneers cruised to the first-set victory. After surrendering the first point of the match, TC reeled off five-straight and never surrendered the lead in the remainder of the opening frame. Holding a 17-13 advantage later in the set, Tusculum scored eight-straight points to take a 24-13 lead.

The Pacers fought off the set point once with a kill from Ashley Lind, but Welch finished it off with a kill in the next rally. TC hit .289 in the opening set with 12 kills and just one error.

USCA tied the match up with a 12-point second-set victory before winning the third set by eight to jump ahead 2-1.

Needing to win the fourth set to force a decisive fifth, the Pioneers scored the first two points of the frame. However, the Pacers reeled off four-straight points to take the lead for the final time. The Pacers used a 3-0 spurt later to turn a four-point advantage into seven and held at least a six-point cushion for the remainder of the set before clinching the match.

Tusculum will be back in action on Friday night inside Pioneer Arena when it plays host to South Atlantic Conference rival Winagte. First serve is set for 7 p.m.