Salem vs. Bob Jones | Friday, September 16th | 2:00 p.m.
Ferrum vs. Salem | Saturday, September 13th | 10:00 a.m.

Boshamer Gym | Brevard, N.C.

LAST TIME OUT
First-year right side hitter Aspen Bradley was the model of consistency for Salem volleyball, closing with 11 kills and a .733 attack percentage, as she led the Spirits to a 25-17, 25-16, 25-9 victory over Ferrum at Varsity Gym on Tuesday, September 13th.

The offense tallied 42 kills and posted a .303 attack percentage overall, due in large part to a pair of double-digit assist performance from the tandem of Ashlyn Wood (18) and Ashlee Peek (17). Meanwhile, the Salem defense kept the Panther offense off-balance with a strong performance by the front row—which tallied three solo blocks and 10 assisted blocks.

A PAIR OF THREE-MATCH STREAKS
Through the first seven matches of the 2022 season, Salem has had two three-match winning streaks. The last time that the Spirits had a three-match winning streak was on October 2021, when they defeated N.C. Wesleyan, Greensboro and Pfeiffer in succession between October 26 and October 30th. Earlier that same season, between September 17th and 28th, Salem put together a four-match winning streak against the likes of Piedmont International, Methodist, Mary Baldwin and William Peace.

PULLING OUT THE BROOMS IN 2022
One of the keys to Salem's success in the early part of the schedule has been the Spirits ability to put opponents away in three games. In the first week of the slate, Salem has already recorded four three-set victories against Randolph (2x), N.C. Wesleyan and Ferrum.

Since the program's induction in 2008, Salem has swept the opposition at least six times in a single-season on seven occasions. The last time this took place was in 2019, when the Spirits notched six sweeps. The others include:

SALEM vs. BOB JONES
Salem and Bob Jones have never met in volleyball. The Bruins enter the Thursday afternoon with a 5-4 mark and will square off against Brevard at 7 p.m. on September 15th.

Bob Jones started a four-match winning streak on September 9th with a 3-0 victory over Trinity College (FL). Later that same day the Bruins defeated Pensacola Christian College (3-1) before concluding a two-day stint in Pensacola, Fla., with back-to-back seeps of Trinity Baptist College and Johnson University (FL) on September 10th.

Faith Blalock leads the Bruins in kills (70), followed by Bethany Estell (62) and Katherine Hoopes (61). Kiersten Hoopes has quarterbacked the offensive attack with 236 assists. In the back row Katelyn Landkrohn leads the way with 118 digs while the duo of Kyra Richard (22 total blocks) and Emma Riddle (16) have anchored the front row.

SALEM vs. HUNTINGDON
Saturday morning will mark the 10th all-time meeting between Salem and Huntingdon in volleyball action. Four of those matches have taken place at a neutral court, as is the case Saturday.
Huntingdon holds a 7-2 edge in the all-time series, but two of the last three matches have been won by the Spirits. The first of those wins (3-1 | 25-20,25-23,19-25,25-9) came on November 3, 2012 in the Great South Athletic Conference Tournament in Decatur, Ga. The Hawks claimed their last win in the series on October 11, 2015 by a 3-0 margin, but Salem bounced back to earn a 3-0 victory of its own just over a year later in Varsity Gym.

In 2022, Morgan Isley leads all Huntingdon hitters with 94 kills (2.94 kills/set) while teammate Reece Rhodes is second with 59. Isley also leads the way in assists (137) and digs (100) for the Hawks. Izzy Valideperas tops the unit in total blocks (13) and assisted blocks (11), leading Isley by two total blocks.

KEY NUMBERS HEADING INTO THE WEEKEND FOR THE SPIRITS
-First-year Aspen Bradley leads all Salem hitters with 84 kills (3.36 kills/set), nine more than teammate Anna Rymer, who has 75 (3.00 kills/set).
-The Spirits have a well-balanced attack this year that has seen just four double-double performances throughout the course of the early season. Valeria Rosa Lopez recorded one of the first double-doubles of the season against Roanoke (19 digs/13 kills). In that same match, Ashlee Peek came through with 20 assists and 10 digs for the Spirits.
Lopez followed that with a 12-dig, 12-kill outing in Salem's 3-0 win over Randolph on September 10th, equaled by Ashlyn Wood, who emerged with 15 assists and 10 digs against the WildCats.
-Salem has three players with at least 10 total blocks through the first seven matches of 2022. Rymer leads the way with 15, due in large part to a team-high six solo blocks. She has just one more than Bradley, who shares the team-lead in assisted blocks (nine) with Rymer. Another key cog in the middle for Salem has been Abrielle Eckenroth, who has 10 total blocks (eight assisted) to her credit.