Site: Buena Vista, Va.

Score: Southern Virginia 3, Salem 0 (25-21, 25-19, 25-16)

Records: Salem (16-7, 8-4 USA South) / Southern Virginia (19-7, 12-1 USA South)

Up Next: Salem vs. N.C. Wesleyan | October 21 | Varsity Gym | Winston-Salem, N.C. | 6 p.m.

BUENA VISTA, Va. — Southern Virginia posted its fourth sweep in the all-time series against Salem by virtue of a 25-21, 25-19, 25-16 victory when the two teams collided in USA South volleyball action on Thursday evening at Knight Arena in Buena Vista, Va.

Salem, which struggled throughout the match to settle into an offensive rhythm, was led individually by the duo of Aspen Bradley and Anna Rymer, who finished with 11 and eight kills, respectively. Bradley committed just one attack error in 23 attempts, posting a .435 attack percentage. Rymer, like Bradley, had just one error in 22 attacks, to close with a .318 attack percentage.

The bright spot for the Salem defense was Macy Nelson, who closed with 13 digs, while Ella Brameus tallied six in the three-set affair. Rymer also made two assisted blocks to highlight Salem's front row defense.

FIRST SET RECAP
The two teams endured nine ties in the first 26 points, reaching a 13-13 deadlock when Southern Virginia's Sydney Hopkin drove home a kill. With Ashley Torbenson in serve the Knights established a 17-13 lead, forcing Salem to spend a timeout. The Spirits would rally and trim the deficit to two, 20-18, with a kill from Ashlee Peek. However, Southern Virginia surrendered just two points to Salem down the stretch to take the first set by five points.

SECOND SET RECAP
Four consecutive service aces by Torbenson in the opening stages of the second set allowed Southern Virginia to forge in front 9-1. The Knights would eventually grab a 10-point advantage, 13-3, with a kill from Jilane Pedersen. But Salem countered with a rally of its own, which began with a slam from Brameus, placing Rymer in serve. The Spirits continued their push for the lead and after back-to-back unforced errors with Peek in serve, Salem trailed just 18-17. Three kills from Courtney Pinkston down the stretch proved to be the difference as Southern Virginia earned the seven-point triumph.

THIRD SET RECAP
In similar fashion to the second set, Southern Virginia grabbed the early lead in the third, streaking out to a 12-4 lead with a slam from Pinkston. Pinkston committed a service error six points later, slicing the lead to 14-8, but the Knights would not relinquish their lead and move in front 19-11. With its offense hitting .312 over the course of the third set, Southern Virginia grabbed a 23-13 lead and would go on to claim a nine-point win.

SALEM NOTES
-Aspen Bradley moved her season total in kills to 265 with an 11-kill outing. That moves Bradley to 10th-most single-season kills in program history and marks the second-most kills by a Salem first year performer. Bradley trails only Taylor Moulton among Salem rookies, as Moulton posted 329 kills in her first season at Salem.
-Aspen Bradley topped double-digit kills for the 18th time this season and eighth time in the last nine matches.
-Salem endured its lowest hitting percentage (.094) in a single match this season.