Winston-Salem, NC-The Salem College volleyball team had a very successful season in their first year in the USA South and second year under the direction of Head Coach Kevin Troup. The Spirits tripled their win record from 2015 where they had three wins to their thirteen wins in 2016. They were also selected to finish seventh in the USA South West Division pre-season poll and they finished in 6th. Their biggest win of the year was their 3-0 upset of the third-seeded Lions of Piedmont to advance to the USA South quarterfinals.

Coach Troup said, "The 2016 volleyball season started with two distinct goals in mind: to surprise our new conference opponents with the heart to win every point. Secondly, to qualify for the USA South Conference Tournament. We met and exceeded both goals this season and look to build on our 2016 successes in 2017."

The Spirits finished with an impressive 8-5 non-conference record. Headed into the last two weeks of USA South conference play, the team needed to upset two teams to advance to tournament play. They got their first upset on the road at Agnes Scott with a 3-1 win. It came down to the last regular season match of the season, as they upset Huntingdon 3-0, to qualify for their first ever USA South Tournament as the sixth seed in the west division. 

The Spirits played the third seeded Lions at Maryville. Piedmont defeated Salem in Winston-Salem 3-0 earlier in the season. Salem started hot and were able to cruise to the 3-0 upset over the third-seeded team. Salem battled hard with the second seeded Scots of Maryville in the quarterfinals, before they fell in three sets. 

There were several firsts for Salem this season. Taylor Moulton became the first volleyball player to earn USA South Rookie of the Week honors. Moulton and Kylie Taffer earned USA South West Division Second Team All-Conference honors. Salem had just one senior, Ashlen Rector, and she was honored as the team's representative on the USA South All-Sportsmanship Team.

Salem Volleyball Season Highlights:

USA South Rookie of the Week: Taylor Moulton
USA South West Division Second Team All-Conference:  Taylor Moulton and Kylie Taffer
USA South All-Sportsmanship Team: Ashlen Rector 

Season Team Leaders:
Total Kills- Kylie Taffer (330)
Kills Per Set- Taylor Moulton (3.07)
Total Set Assists- Hannah Delcamp (978)
Set Assists Per Set- Hannah Delcamp (9.59)
Total Digs- Mariah Sharon (459)
Digs Per Set- Mariah Sharon (4.21)
Total Blocks- Bernisha Master (99)
Total Service Aces- Hannah Delcamp (53)