WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The Salem volleyball team concludes one of the most grueling stretches of the season with a series of matches against USA South Conference foes Meredith (Oct. 21), William Peace (Oct. 23) and Averett (Oct. 23). Two of those matches—against William Peace and Averett—will take place at Varsity Gym, while the clash with Meredith will require a short trip to Raleigh, N.C., for the Spirits.
SPECTATOR POLICY: Salem College Department of Athletics announced for inside contests we will be recognizing the institutional policy of checking vaccine cards or tests 72 hours in advance for events. Salem Academy and College faculty, staff and students will be allowed to view indoor athletic contests in person and will be required to show their Salem ID. All contests will be live streamed and accessible to the public via our website.
Meredith Claims 3-0 Win at Salem Tuesday Evening: The pair of Whitney Bolton and Avery Bowman tallied nine kills apiece while Lauren Phillips accounted for 22 digs, as Meredith capped off its 10th USA South win of the season with a 25-13, 25-18, 25-16 victory over Salem at Varsity Gym on Tuesday evening.
Salem (0-17, 0-11 USA South) was led offensively by Valeria Rosa Lopez (10 kills) and Taylor Alleyne (six), while Brooklyn Snow finished with 11 assists and six digs. Macy Nelson led the way with 13 digs, while Lopez came through with six and Moore contributed six. Both Alleyne and Lopez had two assisted blocks.
BREAKING DOWN THE SPIRITS: Salem heads into the three-match stretch led offensively by the duo of Valeria Rosa Lopez and Brooklyn Snow, who have 136 and 97 kills, respectively, in USA South play. That same tandem tops the Spirits in digs against league foes with Lopez responsible for 154 and Snow chiming in with 105. The Salem offense has been charged by Brianna Moore, who has handed out 225 assists in USA South action.
Defensively, the front row combination of Taylor Alleyne (16 total blocks), Brianna Cherry (14) and Lopez (11) top the statistical leaders in USA South play.
ANALYZING THE AVENGING ANGELS: Meredith enters Thursday on a six-match winning streak that began with a 3-2 victory over Averett on October 8th. The Avenging Angels are 16-6 overall and 10-2 in the USA South, posting a 4-3 mark at home.
Through 12 matches in USA South Conference play, Meredith is led offensively by the tandem of Lauren Bissette (118 kills) and Whitney Bolton (116). Teammate Avery Bowman sits just outside the 100-kill mark with 99 to her credit, while handing out 247 assists. Bailey Lucas has contributed 201 assists for the Avenging Angels.
The back row is led by Lauren Phillips, who has 201 digs in USA South Conference play, while the trio of Bissette (39), Bowman (29) and Sara Dees (25) guide the way in total blocks.
All-Time Series (vs. Meredith)
(Meredith leads 13-1)
| Date | Season | Opponent | Result | Score | Set Scores |
| S5 | 2009 | at Meredith ! | L | 1-3 | 26-24,12-25,18-25,12-25 |
| O7 | 2009 | vs. Meredith | L | 0-3 | 17-25,21-25,21-25 |
| S10 | 2011 | at Meredith # | L | 0-3 | 11-25,15-25,22-25 |
| S12 | 2013 | vs. Meredith | L | 0-3 | 22-25,20-25,19-25 |
| 99 | 2014 | at Meredith | L | 0-3 | 14-25,12-25,12-25 |
| S15 | 2015 | vs. Meredith | L | 0-3 | 18-25,16-25,20-25 |
| O1 | 2016 | at Meredith $* | L | 1-3 | 25-20,17-25,15-25,23-25 |
| S30 | 2017 | vs. Meredith %* | L | 0-3 | 14-25,18-25,22-25 |
| O20 | 2017 | vs. Meredith >* | W | 3-1 | 25-17,27-25,23-25,25-22 |
| O23 | 2018 | vs. Meredith * | L | 0-3 | 17-25,22-25,17-25 |
| O4 | 2018 | at Meredith * | L | 0-3 | 20-25,24-26,24-26 |
| O10 | 2019 | at Meredith * | L | 0-3 | 16-25,19-25,18-25 |
| N1 | 2019 | vs. Meredith * | L | 1-3 | 12-25,21-25,28-26,16-25 |
| O19 | 2021 | vs. Meredith * | L | 0-3 | 13-25, 18-25, 16-25 |
ANALYZING AVERETT: Entering Thursday afternoon, Averett is 19-5 overall and 9-3 in USA South action. The Cougars have won seven straight matches since suffering a 3-2 setback to Meredith on October 8th.
The Cougars have three players with at least 100 kills in USA South action, including Sarah Shropshire (116), Morgan Barnes (109) and Lauren Montren (105). Meanwhile, the Averett offense, which has managed 538 kills, is led by Kinsley Stevens and Makkenzie Compton, who have 319 and 110 digs, respectively.
Erin Gray (191) and Montren (119) top the Averett unit in digs versus USA South competition, while Barnes (31) and Emma Nash (23) lead the way in total blocks for the Cougars.
All-Time Series (vs. Averett)
(Averett leads 8-1)
| Date | Season | Opponent | Result | Score | Set Scores |
| A31 | 2008 | at Averett # | L | 1-3 | 14-25,12-25,25-20,11-25 |
| S24 | 2016 | vs. Averett * | L | 0-3 | 16-25,14-25,22-25 |
| S30 | 2017 | at Averett %* | L | 1-3 | 19-25,13-25,25-22,13-25 |
| O20 | 2017 | vs. Averett >* | L | 0-3 | 17-25,18-25,18-25 |
| S25 | 2018 | vs. Averett * | W | 3-2 | 26-24,29-27,25-27,21-25,15-10 |
| O18 | 2018 | at Averett * | L | 0-3 | 20-25,15-25,13-25 |
| O1 | 2019 | at Averett * | L | 1-3 | 25-23,21-25,15-25,16-25 |
| O22 | 2019 | vs. Averett * | L | 2-3 | 18-25,24-26,25-23,25-19,10-15 |
| O12 | 2021 | at Averett * | L | 0-3 | 16-25, 14-25, 19-25 |
ANALYZING WILLIAM PEACE: William Peace will come to Salem on Saturday with a 15-10 record and a 10-2 mark in USA South Conference action. The Pacers have won seven of their last eight matches since posting a 3-0 win against Averett on October 1.
Hannah Collier and Shelby Cooper, with 135 and 108 kills, respectively, top the William Peace unit in kills accrued in USA South play, while Kelsey Bierbauer has 98 through 12 matches. Mackenzie Russell has been the primary catalyst for the offense with 419 assists.
Logan Moore has anchored the back row with 148 digs, while Russell (122) and Collier (115) rank among the Top-3 in digs for the Pacers. Landis Limon leads the unit with 38 blocks, while Cooper has been a complement with 22 blocks of her own for William Peace.
All-Time Series (vs. William Peace)
(William Peace leads 18-1)
| Date | Season | Opponent | Result | Score | Set Scores |
| S9 | 2008 | vs. William Peace | L | 1-3 | 25-23,16-25,14-25,22-25 |
| S14 | 2008 | at William Peace $ | L | 1-3 | 17-25,11-25,25-16,11-25 |
| O8 | 2008 | at William Peace | L | 2-3 | 11-25,25-16,19-25,25-23,10-15 |
| S6 | 2009 | vs. William Peace ! | L | 1-3 | 25-12,20-25,20-25,16-25 |
| S8 | 2009 | vs. William Peace | L | 1-3 | 16-25,18-25,25-13,14-25 |
| O15 | 2009 | at William Peace | W | 3-1 | 25-23,25-22,14-25,25-21 |
| S16 | 2010 | at William Peace | L | 1-3 | 17-25,25-21,8-25,19-25 |
| O19 | 2010 | vs. William Peace | L | 1-3 | 18-25, 25-22, 20-25, 16-25 |
| S30 | 2011 | vs. William Peace | W | 3-2 | 25-21,25-22,16-25,19-25,15-10 |
| O5 | 2011 | at William Peace | L | 2-3 | 20-25,25-22,7-25,25-18,6-15 |
| S29 | 2012 | vs. William Peace | L | 0-3 | 14-25,21-25,19-25 |
| O17 | 2012 | at William Peace | W | 3-2 | 25-23,18-25,25-18,12-25,15-13 |
| S30 | 2013 | at William Peace | L | 1-3 | 25-21,8-25,22-25,15-25 |
| O11 | 2014 | at William Peace # | L | 0-3 | 23-25,15-25,20-25 |
| S23 | 2016 | vs. William Peace * | L | 1-3 | 25-21,16-25,20-25,21-25 |
| O7 | 2017 | vs. William Peace ^* | L | 1-3 | 26-28,25-18,19-25,23-25 |
| O28 | 2017 | at William Peace &* | L | 1-3 | 25-21,16-25,15-25,19-25 |
| S22 | 2018 | at William Peace $* | L | 2-3 | 20-25,15-25,27-25,26-24,9-15 |
| O13 | 2018 | vs. William Peace ^* | L | 1-3 | 17-25,23-25,25-22,20-25 |
| S28 | 2019 | vs. William Peace %* | W | 3-0 | 25-20,25-22,25-20 |
| S13 | 2019 | vs. William Peace $ | L | 0-3 | 16-25,18-25,16-25 |
| O19 | 2019 | at William Peace &* | L | 0-3 | 22-25,16-25,9-25 |
