WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The Salem volleyball team will make a quick turnaround from its recent five-set bout against Ferrum and take the court Saturday, September 18th against Guilford at 12 p.m.

The Spirits (0-5) are looking to put the brakes on a nine-match losing streak that dates back to November 1, 2019 when Salem suffered a 3-1 setback to Meredith. Salem has competed in two five-set matches during the streak, including a five-set affair with Ferrum on Thursday evening.

Against the Panthers on Thursday, Valeria Rosa Lopez became the fourth player in Salem history to record a program-record 23 kills, joining the trio of Kylie Taffer (2x), Christine Tillman and Hillary McPhatter. The Panthers managed to hold off Salem in the fifth set to earn a 20-25, 25-18, 17-25, 25-17, 15-6 victory when the two teams clashed at Swartz Gymnasium.

Lopez completed her solid performance with her third double-double of season by virtue of a 21-dig outing. She was joined offensively by teammate Brooklyn Snow, who drove home a single-match career-high 14 kills. That duo helped Salem, which fell to 0-5 on the campaign, finish with a .234 hitting percentage by virtue of 49 kills and 19 errors in 128 total attacks.

Lopez was one of four Salem players with double-digit digs along with Macy Nelson (18), Snow (14) and Dania Shoaf (11). The front row was highlighted by Brianna Moore and Laken Edwards, who were responsible for two assisted blocks each. Moore narrowly missed a double-double of her own, closing with nine digs to go along with her team-high 44 assists.

ANALYZING THE SPIRITS: Lopez leads the way for the Spirits in four major statistical categories including digs (101), digs/set (5.61), kills (64), kills/set (3.56) and is tied alongside teammate Taylor Alleyne in service aces (four). Lopez accounts for 40 percent of Salem's 160 total kills.

Laken Edwards has also made an impression on the Salem defensive efforts with 10 total blocks (eight assisted). Classmate and fellow first year standout Brianna Moore is the catalyst for the Salem offense with a team-best 88 assists.

HEAD COACH BARRY RYMER'S THOUGHTS ON THE QUAKERS: "I am super proud of the girls for working hard in practice and showing improvement in our match against Ferrum last night. I hope we can continue to play hard and show improvement as a team moving forward. I am especially proud of Val for matching the school record for kills in the match against Ferrum College."

BREAKING DOWN GUILFORD'S LINEUP: Guilford and Salem are meeting for the 22nd time in program history on Saturday with the Quakers owning a 19-2 edge in the all-time series. Guilford has won all 11 meetings at Ragan-Brown Fieldhouse.

Guilford (2-7) enters the match on a seven-match losing streak, which began with a 3-1 setback to N.C. Wesleyan at the Averett Invitational on Saturday, September 4th. The Quakers opened the season with a series of wins over Pfeiffer (3-0) and Piedmont (3-1), but have managed just two set victories since downing Piedmont on Friday, September 3rd.

Offensively, Guilford has amassed 280 kills (9.33 kills/set) primarily because of the tandem of Cam Blankenship (65 kills) and Adison Needham (59). Blankenship is averaging 2.32 kills/set while making her presence felt in the service game with 10 aces and on the front row with 12 total blocks (11 assisted). Maddi Page has dished out 191 assists for the Quakers.

Cydney Scott leads the way for Guilford in digs (90), followed by Blankenship (69) and Lydia Saunders (64). Meanwhile, teammate Vanessa Johnson is anchoring the front row with 23 total blocks, including seven solo.

All-Time Series (vs. Guilford)
(Guilford leads series 19-2)