ROME, Ga. – After a record-setting season for both the program itself, the USA South Conference and across NCAA volleyball, four members of the Salem volleyball team were recognized for their contributions in the 2022 season. The league office announced on Friday, November 4th, that Salem's Barry Rymer was named Coach of the Year, Aspen Bradley was named Second Team All-Conference, Valeria Rosa Lopez was named Honorable Mention All-Conference and Ashlyn Wood was named to the All-Sportsmanship Team.

Rymer becomes the first individual in Salem volleyball history to earn USA South Conference Coach of the Year honors and joins Dana Wall as the second coach to earn the distinction for the program. Wall received Coach of the Year honors following both the 2013 and 2014 seasons when the Spirits were part of the Great South Athletic Conference.

Rymer, who finished 1-23 in the 2021 campaign, piloted the Salem volleyball team to the best turnaround in program and USA South Conference history by finishing 21-10 in 2022. After being picked to finish ninth in the preseason polls, Rymer's unit finished 12-6 in league action—which resulted in the most conference wins in program history—and established the single-season mark for the best turnaround in league history along the way.

With 19 more overall wins than the previous season, Salem bested the 2010 Greensboro volleyball team's mark of 16 wins, for the best turnaround in league history. Salem is one of 12 programs in USA South Conference since 2001 to improve its win total by at least 10 wins. The 21-10 mark also resulted in the best win percentage (.677) for the Spirits in volleyball history.

BIGGEST WIN IMPROVEMENTS FROM ONE SEASON TO NEXT IN USA SOUTH

Among Rymer's milestone victories in 2022, included a pair of five-set triumphs over Meredith (Oct. 8) and William Peace (Oct. 11). It was the first time that Salem had defeated Meredith since October 20, 2017 and second win in the head-to-head series for the Spirits. Three days later, the win at William Peace marked just the third win in Raleigh, N.C., for Salem in the all-time series. Rymer also guided Salem to its second USA South Conference Tournament victory in program history, claiming a five-set win over Meredith on November 1st, marking the first time in program history that the Spirits defeated the Avenging Angels twice in the same season.

"I am so proud of the work that Barry and the team have done this year," said Director of Athletics J.J. Antoine. "Since his start at Salem, Barry has been invested in growing and strengthening our volleyball program, finding excellent recruits and instilling a drive towards success in the team. This record breaking season is a direct reflection of Barry's understanding not only of volleyball, but of what it takes to be a student-athlete at Salem. Congratulations on a tremendous accomplishment!"

Bradley made an immediate impact on the program in her first season in Winston-Salem, ranking in the Top-3 of seven major statistical categories. She becomes the fifth different Salem player to earn Second Team All-Conference honors from the USA South, along with Taylor Moulton (4x), Kylie Taffer, Maggie Hawks and Kathryn O'Connell, who also received that distinction.

The Redmond, Oregon, native established a new program record for both first-year and all-time kills (351) by averaging a team-best 3.03 kills/set. Bradley posted the second-best attack percentage along the way, finishing with a .321, while making an impact on the front row defensively with 51 total blocks, which was second-most of any Salem defender. She was also second in solo blocks (23) and total blocks (28) on the season.

Bradley, who was also named USA South Rookie of the Week on September 12th, finished with double digit kills in 20 matches for Salem. She tallied at least 15 kills in seven of those matches, including a single-match season-high 20 as the Spirits overcame an 0-2 deficit to defeat Brevard on October 4th. A mark of efficiency, Bradley posted at least a .300 attack percentage in 18 matches for Salem, twice eclipsing the .700 mark against Ferrum (.733) and Hollins (.846) in the month of September. Bradley's .846 attack percentage was the third-best single-match performance in program history. She became the fourth different Spirit to post an .800 attack percentage or better, along with Kylie Taffer (2x) and Taylor Moulton.

"Aspen has been such a blessing to the team" said Rymer. "It is amazing to see how much she accomplished in her first season. It is really special to see her break the kills record her first season. Aspen still has a lot of room to improve. I am super excited to see what she can do her second season."

Lopez also made her mark on the Salem record books this season. She topped 300 kills for the first time in her collegiate career in the USA South Conference Semifinal clash with Southern Virginia, finishing with 304 on the slate. Lopez and Bradley became the second set of teammates in Salem volleyball history to both accrue 300 kills in the same season. The other pair to achieve the feat were Kylie Taffer (330 kills) and Taylor Moulton (329) in 2016. Lopez becomes the first Spirit to earn Honorable Mention honors from the USA South Conference.

Lopez, who averaged 2.69 kills/set on the slate, also accounted for 602 digs (3.30 digs/set), which was second on the team. She amassed a team-best 14 double-doubles, by virtue of kills and digs, along the way. Ten of her 14 double-double outings came against USA South Conference foes, twice managing a stretch of three straight matches with double-doubles. Lopez delivered a single-match season-high 18 kills in the five-set victory on October 8th against Meredith and recorded a single-match season-high 23 digs in a five-set battle with William Peace on October 22nd.

"Val worked hard this year to improve," expressed Rymer. "She increased her hitting percentage and the number of kills for the season. I was proud to see her reach the 300-kill mark this season. I know Val will work hard this off season to get even better!"

Wood quarterbacked the Salem offense with a team-high 685 assists, averaging 5.91 assists/set in the process. With Wood and teammate Ashlee Peek as the primary setters, Salem posted its best single-season attack percentage (.230) in program history. The Spirits also had the most kills (1507) in program history in 2022 than any other previous team.

Wood also etched her name atop the program record books in attack percentage (.368) for a single season, making 50 kills in 117 total attacks. She recorded 10 double-doubles, which came by virtue of assists and digs, second-most double-doubles to only Lopez. Wood established a single-match season-high 14 digs in the five-set win at Brevard on October 4th and equaled that mark 11 days later in the five-set win over William Peace. Her single-match season-high in assists came in the fourth match of the season, against Roanoke, where she handed out 31.

"Ashlyn is one of the best all-around people I have ever coached," said Rymer. "She is an amazing student, hard-working player and just an all-around great person. Ashlyn is a person any coach would be proud to have in their gym everyday."