Winston-Salem, NC-In just three seasons, Salem College Volleyball Head Coach Kevin Troup has turned the program around from going 4-16 in his first season to 21-12 in 2017. Picked to finish 8th in the USA South East Division, Troup and the Spirits surprised their new division by finishing in fourth place this season.
"Within the first week, we knew it was going to be a special year," said Coach Troup. "It was evident that our athletes worked hard in the off season and it showed on the court and in practice."
The Spirits used both experience and new talent on the court to win the most games in program history. Maggie Hawks, a first-year libero, became the first Salem volleyball player to win one of the USA South's most important volleyball honors, USA South Rookie of the Year. She was joined by Taylor Moulton, a sophomore outside hitter, on the USA South East Division Second Team.
Coach Troup said, "Going into our season we had several team goals in mind and several individuals who were close to breaking career record marks at Salem." The Spirits ended up breaking several team and individual records throughout the season (Click Here For Salem Volleyball Individual Records). The team went on 2 long win-streaks, a 6 game win streak and a 5 game win streak. They finished with an impressive 10-6 USA South record, before falling to Methodist in the USA South Tournament. Their most exciting win of the season came at home as they fought back for a 3-1 win over Meredith.
"As a coaching staff, we discussed our team goals in our preseason meeting," said Coach Troup. "But we also had goals we didn't discuss with the team. In our minds, we felt we could get to 20 wins. But we didn't express that to the team because we didn't want to add that pressure to their season."
Salem improved 7 games from the 2016 season to the 2017 season as they went from 13-18 to 21-12. They were led by 5 record breaking seniors: Kylie Taffer, Bernisha Master, Mariah Sharon, Hannah Ogle, and Hawa Conteh.
Coach Troup said, "I am extremely happy that our 5 seniors got to experience a season like this. They have worked very hard in the past three years and were the backbone to our success. We told them coming in, that our goal as a staff was to change the way Salem College Volleyball was perceived. I think we have made tremendous strides, but we aren't done yet."
"We are still a fairly young team and to have the success we had this season and to look forward, our program is headed in the right direction," said Coach Troup. Losing the 5 seniors will hurt the Spirits, but they return a strong group that earned valuable experience this season. With the track record of Coach Troup, his staff, and the players the program will return, the Spirits will continue to improve into one of the top teams in the conference in 2018.