Opponent:
Salem vs. N.C. Wesleyan | September 23 | Rocky Mount, N.C. | 12 p.m.
Salem vs. N.C. Wesleyan | September 23 | Rocky Mount, N.C. | 2 p.m.

SALEM CLAIMS FIRST USA SOUTH CONFERENCE WIN OF 2023
Led by the double-digit kill performances from Valeria Rosa Lopez (15), Aspen Bradley (13) and Anna Rymer (13) the Salem volleyball team picked up its first USA South Conference win of the season in 25-17, 25-20, 25-27, 25-15 fashion over Brevard on Tuesday evening in Varsity Gym.

The victory, which marked Salem's 2023 home opener, gives the Spirits their eighth win in their last 10 home contests dating back to October 8, 2022. Bradley highlighted the Salem triumph with a .429 attack percentage, driving home 13 kills in 28 total attacks, while committing just one error along the way. Rymer connected on 13 kills in 38 attacks, posting a .316 attack percentage, while handing out 21 assists, contributing nine digs and converting two service aces.

For the fourth time in as many matches, Lopez topped double-digit kills while adding a match-high 21 digs. First year outside hitter Victoria Stratmann also made her presence felt in the rotation with nine kills and 11 digs. Ashlyn Wood piloted the offensive attack with 28 assists, helping the Spirits close with 60 kills and a combined .270 attack percentage.

While Lopez led the way on defense with 21 digs, teammate Jolina Bun added 12 and Stratmann came through with 11. Rymer narrowly missed a double-double performance with nine digs, but contributed two solo and two assisted blocks.

Bervard's top offensive threat was Makenna Perkins, who closed with 18 kills and a .333 attack percentage in 39 total attacks.

TRACKING LOPEZ'S MOVE UP THE STATISTICAL CHARTS
Salem senior outside hitter Valeria Rosa Lopez has moved into the Top-4 of two major statistical categories.

Lopez enters the weekend with 807 career kills, which is fourth-most all-time in program history. The Ponce, Puerto Rico native, sits 34 kills away from tying Madelyn Chappell for third-most in Spirits' history with 841.

Lopez has also climbed to third on Salem's all-time digs list, trailing Zy Henderson by 132 digs, who is second on the all-time list with 1,273. Lopez is 228 away from the program's all-time dig leader, Taylor Moulton, who ended her career with 1,369.

THROUGH A BAKER'S DOZEN
Sophomore outside hitter Aspen Bradley responded to the challenge of losing four consecutive matches, three of which came against USA South Conference foes, by posting a single-match season-high 13 kills as Salem posted a 3-1 victory over Brevard on Tuesday evening.

Bradley, who has two double-digit kill outings over the course of the season, needs just three kills to reach the 100-kill plateau for the second time in as many seasons. She posted the best hitting percentage (.429) in Salem's four-set win over Brevard, which marked the eighth home win in the last 10 outings at Varsity Gym.

Valeria Rosa Lopez leads Salem with 146 kills (3.17 kills/set) in 2023, committing 55 errors in 390 attempts to come through with a .233 attack percentage. She is not only tops on the front row, but her 158 digs (3.43 digs/set) led the back row for the Spirits.

Teammate Anna Rymer, who finished with 13 kills and a .316 attack percentage in the recent win over Brevard, eclipsed 100 kills (104) on the season for the third time in her collegiate career and the second time at Salem. The multi-faceted Rymer is first in solo blocks (seven), assisted blocks (20), total blocks (27) and second in total assists (60) for the Spirits.

First year Jolina Bun has made her presence felt on the Salem lineup with a team-best 25 service aces, while ranking second to Lopez in digs with 138 (3.14 digs/set). Bun is one of three players with at least 100 digs, along with sophomore setter Ashlyn Wood, who leads the unit with 277 assists (6.02 assists/set), is third on the unit in digs with 115.

HOW THE BATTLING BISHOPS HAVE FAIRED IN 2023
N.C. Wesleyan enters the weekend with a nine-match losing streak that began with a sweep to USA South Conference foe Pfeiffer on September 2nd. Since that point, the Battling Bishops have suffered eight setbacks, all by virtue of 3-0 sweeps. The most recent loss came to Meredith, who came away with decisions of 25-17, 25-16, 25-23 on Wednesday evening.

Sloan Martin and Gracie Bestler lead all N.C. Wesleyan offensive standouts with 54 and 53 kills, respectively. Teammate Fiona Egan is third on the unit with 45 kills. Martin is also the team leader in assists (145) and service aces (12).

Hailey Davenport tops the Battling Bishops with 103 digs (3.22 digs/set), six more than Martin. Teammate Emily Foraker has the most solo blocks (six) while Aajah Vazquez leads the way with 11 total blocks, highlighted by nine assisted blocks.

SALEM WHEN SQUARING OFF AGAINST THE BATTLING BISHOPS
With the last three victories in the head-to-head series between Salem and N.C. Wesleyan, the Spirits now lead the all-time series by a 9-7 margin.

Salem began its most recent winning streak against N.C. Wesleyan with a 25-15, 25-12, 25-18 victory on September 9, 2022. Just over a month later, the Spirits claimed a 3-0 victory at Varsity Gym by scores of 25-12, 25-21 and 25-13. The following afternoon, Salem moved the winning streak to three with a 25-12, 25-16 and 25-14, resulting in the ninth all-time triumph over the Battling Bishops.

Salem also owns the longest winning streak in the series, six matches, which spanned from September 22, 2017 until October 26, 2019. The Spirits picked up four wins in that stretch in 3-0 sweeps.

The Battling Bishops managed a five-match winning streak to open the all-time series, which stretched from October 1, 2008 until September 30, 2016.

Head-to-Head Series vs. N.C. Wesleyan