More than likely when you pick up never used household items—a wooden No. 2 pencil and a pair of scissors—you never consider about how long they are. However, according to the website www.measuringstuff.com, they are approximately seven inches long on average.
These two items, when you stand them up on their end (carefully mind you), don't present most people with a monumental task of being able to being able to jump over them. However, when tack an additional seven inches onto the top of something that you are accustomed to using daily, that difference can completely change your mindset. For example, imagine if you moved your computer desktop up by seven inches, it makes for an uncomfortable feeling for at least a while. It could result in your forearm rubbing on the edge of the desk in a strange way, make your elbow sore or throw your line of vision off in some ways.
Applying that same ideology and thought process to the game of volleyball one thing that the average fan may not immediately realize is that the men's college volleyball net is placed at 7-feet, 11 5/8-inches while the women's stands at a height of 7-feet, 4 ¼-inches.
One Salem volleyball player, sophomore Valeria Rosa Lopez, can quickly attest to the fact that those 7.5 inches can make a significant difference when playing a match. After all, during the COVID-19 pandemic, when Lopez was unable to play alongside her Salem teammates for the course of a year she spent some of that time playing at open gyms at Impact Church in Greensboro, Rise Indoor Sports in Advance as well as Lake Daniels in Greensboro, where she was able to play on the men's nets.
"Over the course of the pandemic I played on a men's net, Monday's, Wednesday's, Friday's and Sunday's both indoor and outdoor," Lopez describes. "I also played on a women's net, along with a few of my teammates at Salem on Wednesdays and Sundays for a while. I'd definitely say playing not only on a men's net, but alongside other men have improved my game significantly. Receiving harder hits really helps you focus on reading the attacker, and I'd definitely say I've gotten much better at that."
The differences in Lopez's performance on the court for Salem are also apparent in the early going of the 2021 campaign. In her first year, while playing alongside then teammates Kathryn O'Connell, Taylor Moulton and Brooklyn Snow, she managed 75 kills and 266 digs at the end of the season while O'Connell (271 kills / 297 digs), Moulton (255 kills / 339 digs) and Snow (194 kills) were the primary sparkplugs. Now, two years later, Lopez is the focal point of the Salem attack and has amassed 100 kills and 138 digs through the first seven matches.
Lopez has not only surpassed her 2019 numbers in kills, but she has also become more of a student of the game with her on-court defensive techniques. As a result, she has double-digit digs in each of her first seven matches. Additionally, she has posted a double-double in five of those seven matches.
Her defensive philosophy resulted in the Ponce, Puerto Rico, native earning USA South Defensive Player of the Week honors on September 6th after wrapping up the Route 42 Classic with 63 digs (6.30 digs/set) and 33 kills (3.30 kills/set) in clashes with Bridgewater, Eastern Mennonite and Marymount. That opening weekend performance resulted in Lopez becoming the first Salem volleyball player to earn that accolade from the USA South since Maggie Hawks in 2018.
Offensively, Lopez has eclipsed double figure kills in four matches to this point, including a single-match career-high 23 kills in a five-set clash with Ferrum. In that match, 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.
"I am very impressed with Val this season," said Salem head coach Barry Rymer. "You can tell she worked hard in the off-season. She played a lot of volleyball on men's height nets and she also played outside with fewer people on the court. That has helped Val see the court better and work on jumping high and extending her arm more. Val is an impressive all-around player to be 5-foot-7. Val has the potential to be one of the best all-around players in the conference."
1-What other conditioning did you take part in during the pandemic to improve yourself?
Lopez: I was constantly playing volleyball from 2-4 hours a day about five days a week, going on hikes, (sometimes) and the occasional at home workout. (The workouts were more at the beginning of the pandemic though)
2-After being away from the court, from a competitive standpoint, for over a year what have you come to appreciate more about playing volleyball (ex: locker room conversations, practice, conditioning, etc?
Lopez: After being away from the court for a long time, I came to appreciate the rush of competition. While pick up play can be competitive, it's not quite the same rush as playing against another team while the crowd watches, and it's not the same as getting a kill and hearing your teammates echo through the gym.
3-In the first weekend after returning to competitive volleyball, you earned some individual accolades for Salem with your USA South Defensive Player of the Week honor. Talk about what that means for you and the program, being that you are the first to win that award since 2018.
Lopez: It feels great to come back into season after missing out on a whole year and a half of play to come in seeing recognition for my hard work with these accomplishments. Hopefully it's something that draws more attention to Salem's program.
4-As a native of Ponce, Puerto Rico, who was the person that influenced you the most to play volleyball? How did they influence you to play volleyball?
Lopez: As cliché of an answer as this is, both of my parents played the biggest influence on me to play volleyball. They always have wanted better for me, it's part of why I am so ambitious and always strive for more. Their way of upbringing me has instilled a strong work ethic, this will stick with me forever and continue to push me greater levels.