Site: Roanoke, Va.

Scores:
Salem 3, Ferrum 1 (22-25, 26-24, 25-23, 25-15)
Salem 3, Hollins 0 (25-14, 25-16, 25-20)

Records: Salem (7-1) / Ferrum (3-2) / Hollins (1-8)

Up Next:
Salem at Greensboro | September 12 | Greensboro, N.C. | 7 p.m.

ROANOKE, Va. — The Salem volleyball team completed its two-day weekend with a pair of wins over Ferrum (3-1 / 22-25, 26-24, 25-23, 25-15) and Hollins (3-0 / 25-14, 25-16, 25-20). With those two triumphs, Salem moved its record to 7-1 overall, marking the best start in program history.

With the pair of Valeria Rosa Lopez and Anna Rymer reaching double-digit kills, 16 and 13, respectively, Salem capped off the clash with Ferrum with 49 kills and a .229 attack percentage. Rymer was also active defensively with four assisted blocks, while teammate Jolina Bun came through with a team-best 18. Reece Campbell added 16 digs, Lopez emerged with 13.

Lopez was also a prevalent part of the Salem offense in the second match, tying Aspen Bradley for the team lead with eight kills as the Spirits posted a .245 attack percentage. Lopez was also an active defender with 14 digs, while Bun contributed 12.

Salem's Ashlyn Wood earned All-Tournament honors for the Spirits, finishing with 100 assists, 38 digs and five service aces over the weekend.

SALEM 3, FERRUM 1
First Set Recap: The Spirits had a sluggish opening set, falling behind 10-6 to the Panthers after a kill from Jaycee Chaffin and a service ace by Savanna Walker. Salem fought back, behind an ace from Wood, to even the game at 12-all. Ferrum put together a 7-2 run, moving in front by five on a Chaffin service ace. Campbell's service game resulted in four Ferrum errors, allowing Salem to draw even at 20. Chaffin answered two kills in the final five points to provide Ferrum with the 1-0 lead.

Second Set Recap: The Spirits regrouped to drive home 14 kills (.275 attack percentage) in the second set, establishing a 12-8 lead behind kills from Rymer and Adalyn Raney along with service aces from Lopez. Rymer drove a kill past her former teammates to move the lead to 17-11, but Ferrum responded with a 5-1 run that trimmed the margin to two. With the margin tied at 19, Rymer converted two kills and a service ace to put Salem one point from victory, 24-20. The Panthers made one final push, evening the game at 24, but a kill from Jacie Jarvis coupled with an unforced error provided Salem with the win.

Third Set Recap: Salem posted a match-high 17 sets in the third frame, despite falling into a 7-1 hole to open game. A series of strikes by Abrielle Eckenroth, Lopez and Rymer, along with a pair of service aces from Rymer, helped even the contest at 11-all. The game endured three ties over the next 14 points, reaching a climatic 18-18 deadlock, before Rymer, Lopez and Jarvis extended the Spirits lead to 22-18. Kills down the stretch from the trio of Rymer, Jarvis and Raney in succession gave Salem a 2-1 lead in the match.

Fourth Set Recap: Sensing the opportunity to close out its sixth win of the season, Salem stormed out to a 10-3 lead in the fourth set, highlighted by a block from Rymer and Lopez. Ferrum answered with an 8-4 rally of its own, moving to within three, before timely kills from Lopez and Rymer moved the score to 19-14. That tandem accounted for two kills each down the stretch as Salem posted the victory.

SALEM 3, HOLLINS 0
First Set Recap: Bradley quickly drove home two kills and Raney added a slam of her own, helping Salem to grab a 12-5 lead in the first game of the match. Nikita Sizemore joined the Spirits' rotation, coming through with a kill and an assisted block, as the lead grew to 18-8. Hollins scored six of the next eight points, making for a 22-14 contest, but a service ace from Bun and a kill from Rymer resulted in the 11-point Salem victory.

Second Set Recap: The two units battled throughout the early phases of the second set, reaching a nine-all deadlock with an error by Hollins' Cassidy Henderson. Raney singlehandedly gave Salem a 13-9 lead with two service aces and a kill, before Bun took over in serve. Bun's service game, coupled with two kills from Rymer, resulted in a 20-11 Salem lead. Rymer and LindaGrace York added kills down the stretch to help move the Salem advantage to 2-0.

Third Set Recap: The Spirits earned their seventh consecutive win in the head-to-head series with Hollins after posting 13 kills (.233 attack percentage) in the final game. In similar fashion to the second set, Salem powered its way to a large lead in the third, grabbing an 11-4 lead. Three kills from Bradley followed by a pair of slams from Lopez pushed the margin to 20-12. Raney came through with a service ace and a kill down the stretch to help secure the third sweep of the season and best start in program history.

SALEM NOTES
-Salem's Ashlyn Wood earned All-Tournament honors for the Spirits, finishing with 100 assists, 38 digs and five service aces over the weekend.
-The Salem volleyball team completed its two-day weekend with a pair of wins over Ferrum (3-1 / 22-25, 26-24, 25-23, 25-15) and Hollins (3-0 / 25-14, 25-16, 25-20), moving its record to 7-1, which is the best start in program history. The previous best start, 6-2, came to open the 2022 season.
-Valeria Rosa Lopez emerged with 58 digs and 43 kills over the weekend. She moves her career totals in kills to 743, which gives her fourth-most in program history. Her 1,087 digs is third-most in Salem history.
-The 4-0 result at the Roanoke College Tournament marks the first time in Salem volleyball history that the Spirits have won all four matches at an in-season tournament in program history.