Site: Brevard, N.C.

Score: Salem 3, Brevard 2 (23-25, 21-25, 25-20, 25-16, 15-13)

Records: Salem (10-5, 3-2 USA South) / Brevard (2-14, 0-7 USA South)

Up Next: Salem vs. Meredith / Salem vs. Pfeiffer / October 8th, 12 p.m., 4 p.m.

BREVARD, N.C.— 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, who won at least 10 wins for the ninth time in program history, 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.

FIRST SET RECAP
The Tornados stormed out to a 10-4 lead in the opening set, following a kill from Ashley Hoxit, but Salem capitalized on a series of kills from Rymer and Bradley to trim the deficit to three. Brevard put together a brief run, stretching the margin to 15-8, before Brameus came through with a kill and added two service aces as Salem pulled the deficit to one, 15-14. Four ties later with the set knotted at 23, following a set miscue by Kaitlyn Pressley, the Tornados converted a kill from Makenna Perkins and took advantage of a Salem miscue to claim the win.

SECOND SET RECAP
In similar fashion to the opening set, Brevard grabbed an early lead (9-4) in the second frame, following a service error. Salem retaliated by scoring 10 of the next 15 points, due in large part to kills from Bradley, Rymer, Snow and Valeria Rosa Lopez to pull even at 14. The game would endure six ties in the next 12 points, reaching a climatic 20-all deadlock. Parkins and Pressley came through with two kills each down the stretch to give Brevard a 2-0 lead in the match. The Tornados pulled to within one, 20-19, late in the set, but timely kills from Rymer, Brameus and Bradley pushed the match to a fourth set.

THIRD SET RECAP
The Salem offense found its rhythm in the third, posting a .324 attack percentage due in large part to 14 kills, establishing a 10-4 lead early on in the set following a series of kills from Snow, Abrielle Eckenroth and Jacie Jarvis along with a service ace via Peek. Brevard fought back to even the match at 14, but with Brameus in serve, Salem received two blocks from Bradley and three attack errors to grab an 18-14 lead.

FOURTH SET RECAP
After five ties in the first 16 points of the fourth set, resulting in an eight-all deadlock, Salem grabbed the lead with a kill and two service aces from Rymer. Eckenroth drove home a kill to extended Salem's lead to 17-11, putting Brameus in serve, where the first-year delivered a service ace and forced a Tornados' error. The combination of kills from Bradley, Eckenroth and Rymer, coupled with points from Nelson in serve evened the match at 2-2 with a nine-point Salem victory.

FIFTH SET RECAP
A back-and-forth battled ensued to open the fifth set, which witnessed five ties and a 5-5 deadlock after a slam from Parkins for Brevard. Rymer drove home a kill and Jarvis answered with a pair of slams to provide Salem with a 9-6 advantage, but the Tornados fought back to knot the contest at nine. After a 10-10 tie, following a kill from Brevard's Blair Nance, Bradley took over with three straight kills for Salem and Rymer added the decisive slam to give the Spirits their 10th win of the season.

SALEM NOTES
-Salem is now 2-1 in the all-time series against the Tornados.
-The five-set victory marks the second in the career of head coach Barry Rymer, who claimed his first-ever head coaching victory in five sets in the 2021 season finale against Mary Baldwin.
-Salem is 1-1 in five-set matches this season after dropping a 3-2 decision to Roanoke on September 9th.
-Aspen Bradley, who established her single-match season-high in kills (20) has now topped the double-digit kill mark on 11 occasions and five times in her last six matches.
-Anna Rymer has had eight matches with at least a .300 attack percentage for the Spirits in 2022.
-Ella Brameus has recorded at least 15 digs in six matches this season, amassing at least 20 digs on three occasions.