August 31, 2013

Harrisonburg, VA-The Salem College volleyball team swept Mary Baldwin and finished the Eastern Mennonite Invitational with a 1-3 record after their first four matches of the 2013 season. Chelsea Jones (Glade Valley, NC) was honored on the All-EMU Invitational team by her play throughout the Invitational. Salem fell to Howard Payne and Goucher on Saturday. After defeating Mary Baldwin, they fell to the host on Sunday.

"After the nerves wore off, we got stronger as the tournament wore on," said Head Coach Dana Wall. "Our passing and defense were solid. Now we know what we need to work on going forward and fortunately, it's small fixes."

In their first match, Howard Payne won (20-25, 17-25, 11-25), and then they dropped three to Goucher (21-25, 23-25, 15-25). The Spirits turned around to easily handle Mary Baldwin (25-19, 25-14, 25-16). They started fast against the host EMU Royals, before falling in four sets (25-17, 19-25, 19-25, 16-25).

Michelle Morgan (Chattanooga, TN) had a strong tournament as she led the Spirits with 34 kills. Zy Henderson (Spartanburg, SC) led the Spirits with 37 digs. "Our two first-year starters, Olivia Newbern (Barco, NC) and Taylor Rhodes (Jamestown, NC) played well under pressure," said Wall. "I am looking forward to a good season."

The Spirits return to the road on September 4th, as they travel to take on Greensboro at 7:00.