It was always easy to spot first year outside hitter Valeria Rosa Lopez on the volleyball court when Salem took the court last season. She was the one that was either smiling, flying above the net, dropping an ace on an opponent or had pinkish hair. While most fans will remember Lopez as the one with the distinctive pink locks, the opposition will remember her for her defensive prowess that resulted in 51 service aces (0.50 service aces / set) and 266 digs (2.63 digs / set).
Lopez was a constant in head coach Bouaketh Chanthavisouk's rotation, playing in 101 of 102 sets for the Spirits in 2019. She finished among the top-five of three major statistical categories including service aces (51—1st), digs (266—3rd) and digs / set (2.63—3rd). Lopez also contributed 75 kills and managed eight assisted blocks as she helped the team to a 14-14 overall mark and 10-6 record in USA South Conference play.
Lopez proved that she was able to seize the moment with the volleyball in her hand early on in the season, finishing with a match-high four service aces in the 3-0 victory over Wilson in the season-opener on August 30. Less than a month later she equaled that mark in a series of clashes against Mary Baldwin and William Peace on September 28. After posting 10 multi-ace matches on the season, Lopez established her single-match season-high (five), which came in a decisive 3-0 sweep of N.C. Wesleyan on October 16. She would add two more multi-ace performances in the remaining weeks of the slate, finishing with 12.
Defensively the Clemmons, N.C., native contributed 266 digs and was one of five Spirits with at least 200 on the season. After notching 12 digs in opening match against Wilson she emerged with nine in clashes with Brevard (Sept. 6) and Maryville (Sept. 14) before establishing a single-match season-high (22) in a five-set battle with Guilford on Sept. 14.
Lopez would continue to make her presence felt defensively as she emerged with double-digit digs against USA South foes Averett (12), N.C. Wesleyan (13) and Greensboro (12) in early October. She moved that number to five in the month after finishing with 12 and 10 versus Methodist and Mary Baldwin, respectively. Lopez capped off October action with a 21-dig outing at Greensboro, helping to guide Salem to 3-1 win, before posting 10 digs in a four-set victory against Pfeiffer. Her final two multi-dig matches of the season came against Emory & Henry (Nov. 3) and Greensboro (Nov. 5).
Lopez, one of three sophomores on the 2020-21 Salem roster, recently discussed a number of topics to provide insight to her career both on and off the court. She made the following statements:
Name: Valeria Rosa Lopez
Sport(s): Volleyball
Who inspired you to play this sport and why? No one in particular, all I did was try out different sports at recreational centers when I was younger. I actually hated volleyball the first week that I played (I was in 4th or 5th grade) because it hurt my wrists with all the blood vessels I popped. I eventually went back to it in 7th grade just because and I ended up loving it.
Describe some of the things that you have done, while being away from campus during the COVID-19 pandemic, that have made an impact on your life. I've been keeping up with a small business that I run. (@chugabugscreations on IG and Etsy) It's been pretty relaxing honestly, I basically just work, sleep, watch anime, and game. That doesn't sound so bad to me.
Favorite Food: Pork Buns and Rice- I couldn't pick between the two.
Favorite Class at Salem: I don't particularly have a favorite…
What is the one thing that you have learned most by competing in athletics that you apply in everyday life? Things aren't always going to go my way, sometimes you have a bad day and there really is not much you can do about it. Relax-things aren't always in your control.
Best Salem moment in sports: This is a hard question. Anytime I wasn't down on myself honestly, I just have a lot of fun playing.
Plans after I finish college: To run my own business because I don't like running on other people's schedules.
Superstitions that are in my pregame ritual: I frequently wipe my shoes before games and on the court, so maybe that? I also try to never take a nap before games because I always wake up really slow and out of place, on the bus though I really can't help it.
How did you pick your jersey number: I love telling people this actually haha, around eighth grade I had started getting into volleyball, I watched an anime called Haikyuu! (A really good volleyball anime, 10/10) and my favorite character was Hinata Shoyo. He plays a middle blocker but faces challenges because he's really short-which is not typical for Middle Blockers. At the time, I played Middle Blocker just because I had a lot of stamina AND I was short-the same height as him at the time I think actually, and that really resonated with me so I ended up choosing the number 10 to match jersey numbers with my favorite anime character. It's been my number ever since.
Favorite person to follow on social media: I don't really care a lot for influencers or celebrities on social media so I'd have to go with @_seitens, @hoonki.ah, and @0073.uv <these are artists that I enjoy seeing their art.
If you could travel anywhere where you would go: Probably Japan, or Puerto Rico because I was born there and I haven't visited in a while.
What made you decide to attend Salem: I wanted to play volleyball and didn't have the money to go to a huge school or out of state.