Salem vs. Brevard | October 27 | Varsity Gym | Winston-Salem, N.C. | 6 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT
The Salem volleyball team wrapped up its second tri-match of October with a split, earning a 3-0 victory in the opening match of the day against N.C. Wesleyan (25-12, 25-16, 25-14) before falling in five sets to USA South Conference leader William Peace (22-25, 25-19, 25-17, 18-25, 15-10) in a pair of league clashes at Varsity Gym.

Salem earned its third win of the season, second in league action, over N.C. Wesleyan behind a pair of 10-kill outings from Aspen Bradley and Anna Rymer. The duo both made 24 total attacks and finished with a .333 attack percentage, while teammate Valeria Rosa Lopez closed with seven kills. Salem notched its 10th .300 attack percentage of the season, finishing with a .308 team attack percentage.

Lopez was also active on defense with 16 digs, while Ella Brameus added 15 and Macy Nelson topped double figures with a 14-dig performance. Salem tallied 12 assisted blocks, including four from Brooklyn Snow and three each from Bradley and Rymer.

The afternoon pitted Salem and William Peace against each other for the first time since the Spirits claimed a five-set win in Raleigh on October 11th. Lopez, who led four Salem hitters in kills with 14, was joined offensively by Rymer (13 kills), Bradley (12) and Abrielle Eckenroth (10). Eckenroth led the quartet with a .364 attack percentage, committing just two errors along the way.

While the pair of Ashlee Peek (26) and Ashlyn Wood (25) reached double-digit assists, Salem managed a .229 attack percentage in the match. Defensively, six Spirits finished with at least 10 digs, including Lopez (23), Brameus (14), Peek (13), Nelson (12), McKenzie Tullock (11) and Wood (10).

SALEM HEADS DOWN FINAL STRETCH OF REGULAR SEASON
The Salem volleyball team has just three matches remaining in the 2022 regular season.

The Spirits begin their week by hosting Brevard at 6 p.m. at Varsity Gym on Thursday evening. Two days later, Salem will make the short trip to Meisenheimer, N.C., to face both Meredith and Pfeiffer on Saturday afternoon.

Salem, which is 18-8 overall on the season, has won eight matches at home, five on the road and five at neutral sites. The Spirits are 10-5 in league action, equaling the 2017 unit for most conference wins in program history, can establish the new mark with a victory against any of the final three programs.

If the 2022 Spirits were able to finish off the regular season with three straight wins they would equal the 2017 unit that posted the most overall wins in program history (21). A victory against Brevard would give the current team the second-most home wins (nine) in program history, tying the 2008 team and finishing one off the pace established by the 2017 team.

A road victory against Pfeiffer would also equal the 2017 team, which owns the program mark of most road triumphs (six). A neutral site win against Meredith on Saturday afternoon would allow the current squad to tie the 2019 team for most neutral site victories in program history (six).

TURNAROUNDS IN 2022
At the close of the 2022 volleyball season there were 22 programs across the NCAA Division III ranks who had two wins or less, including the Salem squad that finished with a 1-23 mark.

However, with the addition of 11 first year players and one sophomore, which came in the form of Anna Rymer, Salem has the biggest turnaround in the NCAA from a season ago—boasting a 16-6 record (+15 wins).

Only one other program, Belhaven, which finished 2-23 overall a season ago, has improved its win total by at least seven wins. Belhaven is 9-16 in 2023. Additionally, none of those 22 programs with two wins or less has a winning record other than Salem in 2023.

BIGGEST TURNAROUNDS IN 2023

BRADLEY IN UNIQUE COMPANY
Salem first year Aspen Bradley combined for 22 kills in Saturday's clashes with N.C. Wesleyan and William Peace, moving her season total to 302.

With 302 kills to her credit, Bradley becomes the third different player in Salem volleyball history to reach the 300-kill mark. One of those individuals with at least 300 kills is Kylie Taffer, who owns the most single-season kill mark (330) and third-most single-season kills (312) in Spirit history. Taylor Moulton, who ranks second in single-season kills (329), achieved that feat in 2016, her first year.

Bradley has reached double-digit kills on 21 occasions this season, notching at least 15 kills in six matches. She established her single-season match-high in kills (20) in a five-set win over Brevard on October 4th.

By comparison, Moulton reached the double-digit kill mark on 19 occasions during the 2016 season, when she established the program's rookie mark for most kills in a season. Moulton came through with at least 15 kills in five matches, establishing a single-match season-high at Greensboro on September 20, 2016, when she delivered 22 kills.

SALEM PLAYERS WITH 300-KILL SEASONS

BRAMEUS ACES THE COMPETITION
Salem's Ella Brameus heads into the final week of the regular season tied for seventh on the single-season list for most service aces.

Brameus, following an ace of N.C. Wesleyan on Saturday afternoon, moved into a tie with Brittany Miller for seventh-most. Miller came through with 46 services aces in 2012.

The program mark belongs to Hillary McPhatter, who came through with 56 service aces in 2014. Hannah Delcamp is second in single-season service aces, posting 53 in 2016, and Valeria Rosa Lopez is third on the list with 51 in 2019.

SPIRITS' STATISTICAL BREAKDOWN
Three Salem hitters have recorded at least 200 kills on the season, including Aspen Bradley, who tops the lineup with 302 (3.11) in 2022. Teammate Valeria Rosa Lopez is second with 256 kills, averaging 2.72 kills/set along the way, and Anna Rymer is third with 239 kills (2.46).

The most efficient hitter for the Spirits in 2022 has been Ashlyn Wood, responsible for a .393 hitting percentage by virtue of 39 kills, six miscues and 84 total attacks. Bradley ranks second on the unit with a .349 attack percentage, with Rymer hovering near the .300 mark with a .297 attack percentage heading into the final stretch.

Wood also leads the team in assists with 582, taking an active role on defense with 196 digs as well. She has nine double-doubles, by virtue of assists and digs, for Salem this season. Ashlee Peek is second on the unit with 383 assists (4.12 assists/set).

Ella Brameus is one of five Spirits with at least 20 service aces, leading the way with 46 at a clip of 0.47 assists/set. That is 11 more than Wood, who is second on the team, and 19 more than Rymer, who ranks third.

Brameus is also Salem's leader in digs (343) and is joined by Lopez among those with 300 digs on the slate. Lopez has reached double-digit digs on 19 occasions and leads all Salem hitters in double-doubles, by virtue of kills and digs, with 14. Macy Nelson, who is third on the team with 277 digs, needs just 23 to become the third player with at least 300 digs on the slate. Nelson, who finished with 280 digs a season ago, is looking to eclipse 300 digs for the first time in her collegiate career.

The Salem front row, which has 128 total blocks and 134 assisted blocks, has been anchored by the combination of Rymer and Bradley. Rymer is tops among individual leaders with team high's in both assisted blocks (39) and solo blocks (24). She is currently tied with Brittani Stewart for sixth-most solo blocks in a season and is 11th in program history in single-season blocks with 63.

LOOKING INSIDE OF THE TORNADOS
Last time vs. Salem | Oct. 4: The Salem volleyball team rallied from an 0-2 deficit to win three straight sets and claim its 10th win of the season and third in USA South Conference play when it downed league foe Brevard by scores of 23-25, 21-25, 25-20, 25-16, 15-13 at Boshamer Gym on Tuesday, October 4th.

The Spirits were led offensively by the tandem of Aspen Bradley (20 kills) and Anna Rymer (13 kills). Bradley was efficient in her performance, committing just three errors in 43 attacks to finish with a .395 attack percentage. Meanwhile, Rymer limited herself to one error in 24 attacks, posting a team-high .500 attack percentage versus the Tornados.

Teammate Brooklyn Snow contributed nine kills for Salem in the victory, helping the team amass 60 kills and a .203 attack percentage. Also contributing to the offense's success against Brevard were setters Ashlyn Wood and Ashlee Peek, who came through with 27 and 22 assists, respectively.

Bradley was also a key figure in the Salem defense, making three solo blocks, two more than Snow and Ella Brameus. Brameus was one of four back row defenders with double-digit digs, coming through with a team-high 22. Macy Nelson had 15 digs for Salem, while Wood rounded out a double-double with 14 digs. Snow was also instrumental on defense with 10 digs for the Spirits.

Brevard (4-20, 2-13 USA South) claimed its second win of the USA South slate last Saturday in a 3-0 victory against Mary Baldwin in Meisenheimer, N.C. The Tornados are 2-5 in true road games and 2-8 in neutral site events this season.

The tandem of Makenna Parkins and Kaitlyn Pressley lead the team in kills with 246 and 220, respectively. Perkins also tops the Tornados in kills/set with 2.73 and is the most efficient hitter (.213) among those players that have at least 10 total attacks.

Logan Priddy tops the Tornados in total assists (385), resulting in 868 team kills (9.64 kills/set) and a .135 attack percentage for Brevard in 2022.

The top backrow defender is Bailey Lance, who has accrued 333 digs (4.22 digs/set) this season, while Ashley Hoxit is second with 206 digs (2.48 digs/set). Meanwhile, Kendall Rockstad has stonewalled the opponents with 31 total blocks (0.36 digs/set). She has amassed a team-high 26 assisted blocks, while Perkins tops the unit in solo blocks with eight.