N.C. Wesleyan vs. Salem | Friday, September 9th | 2:00 p.m.
Salem at Roanoke | Friday, September 9th | 6:00 p.m.
Randolph vs. Salem | Saturday, September 10th | 11:00 a.m.
Hollins vs. Salem | Saturday, September 10th | 3:00 p.m.
Cregger Center | Roanoke, Va.
LAST TIME OUT
Salem posted a 3-0 (25-9, 25-12, 25-22) road victory over Randolph in Lynchburg, Va., on Wednesday evening. The Spirits tied the 2009 unit for the best start (2-0) in program history.
HOW TO WATCH
The Salem matches will be streamed via Facebook live this weekend. The Salem Facebook page is @SalemCollegeAthletics.
SALEM vs. N.C. WESLEYAN
The two USA South Conference members have met 13 times since the 2008 season with the Battling Bishops owning a 7-6 lead in the all-time series. N.C. Wesleyan has won the last two head-to-head meetings, but the Spirits had rattled off six straight victories from September 22, 2017 through October 26, 2019. The two teams have met at a neutral site on three occasions with Salem owning a 2-1 mark.
SALEM vs. ROANOKE
Salem and Roanoke have collided just one other time in program history. That meeting came on September 9, 2017, with the Spirits coming away with a five-set victory. The match took place in Roanoke, with Salem posting a 25-19,19-25,23-25,25-18,15-13 win.
SALEM vs. RANDOLPH
The Spirits are 3-1 all-time in their series with Randolph and are 2-0 all-time in Lynchburg, Va. The other victory at Randolph came on September 7, 2016, when Salem emerged with a 30-28, 26-24, 25-19 win. The Saturday afternoon match will mark the second time that the two teams have clashed in the same season. The last time this took place was 2016, when they met on September 7th and October 22nd. Salem won both matches that season and has won the last three head-to-head meetings.
SALEM vs. HOLLINS
This weekend's match with Hollins will mark the 12th time that the two programs have met in volleyball. Hollins is 6-5 all-time against Salem, however the Spirits have won the last four matches in the series. The last meeting came in 2017, with Salem running its winning streak to four straight, following a pair of 3-0 victories, which came on September 8th and October 12th.
QUITE A START FOR THE SPIRITS
Salem opened the 2022 campaign with a four-set victory over Johnson & Wales by scores of 25-9, 20-25, 25-10, 25-15. That marked the first victory for the Spirits in Varsity Gym since October 30, 2019, when they downed Pfeiffer in four sets, and the first home victory in the career of head coach Barry Rymer.
On Wednesday, Salem traveled to Lynchburg, Va., to take on Randolph and claimed a 3-0 victory against the Wildcats by scores of 25-9, 25-12, 25-22. The third all-time win in program history over Randolph also marked the second time in program history that Salem has started a season 2-0.
The last time that Salem opened the slate with back-to-back wins was 2009, under then head coach Amanda Ziemba. Ziemba's squad claimed a five-set win over Johnson C. Smith in the opener on Sept. 1, 2009 before capping off a three-set win against Agnes Scott four days later. Rymer's unit will look to become the first team in Salem volleyball history to start 3-0, when they face N.C. Wesleyan on Friday afternoon.
IMPRESSIVE EARLY NUMBERS FOR SALEM
One of the major points of offensive emphasis for head coach Barry Rymer is accuracy. Rymer's 2022 unit has gotten off to a great start in their accuracy, posting a .296 attack percentage with 94 kills in 196 total attempts. Individually, Anna Rymer (25 kills) and Aspen Bradley (23) lead the way for the team in kills.
Anna Rymer has made quite an impression with a .513 attack percentage, driving home 25 kills in 39 attempts, while committing five miscues. The quartet of Ashlyn Wood (.517 attack percentage), Ashlee Peek (.500), Abrielle Eckenroth (.333) and Nikita Sizemore (.300) are also responsible for a .300 attack percentage through the first two matches. Eckenroth ranks fourth on the team in kills (11), while the combination of Wood, Peek and Sizemore have combined for 10 kills.
BACK ROW DEFENSE
The trio of Macy Nelson (26 digs), Ella Brameus (22) and Valeria Rosa Lopez (19) lead the way for the Salem back row. Collectively, they account for 70 percent of the digs in two matches for the Spirits, who have 95 on the slate.
Meanwhile, the front row blocking by Aspen Bradley, Anna Rymer and Arielle Eckenroth—who have three total blocks each—have limited opposing offenses to 51 kills and a .073 attack percentage.