ROME, Ga. – After wrapping up the most successful regular season in program history, capped off by a program-record 22nd win and the fourth seed in the league tournament, three members of the Salem volleyball unit were named to the USA South All-Conference Team on Wednesday morning in a statement from the league office. The trio of Macy Nelson (All-Sportsmanship), Anna Rymer (Second Team All-Conference) and Valeria Rosa Lopez (Second Team All-Conference) were recognized as top performers in 2023 according to a vote from the league's head coaches.
Rymer and Lopez join teammate Aspen Bradley as the only three players in program history to earn Second Team All-Conference honors for the Spirits. Bradley accomplished the feat in 2022 as a first year for the Spirits. Meanwhile, Nelson joins Ashlen Rector, Alexis Sunderland, Corrin Shores, Anna Schneider, Nikita Sizemore and Ashlyn Wood as recipients of the All-Sportsmanship Award.
"I am proud of Anna for switching positions at one point to help the team and then transitioning back to just playing middle," said head coach Barry Rymer. "She has improved her serving, been a very good captain and made some big plays all season when we needed them most.
"It has been an honor to coach Val the past three years. Each year she has shown growth as a player and a leader," continued Rymer. "Val provides the energy for our team! She is one of the best all-around players in the history of Salem College. I am thankful that I have got to share all of Val's accomplishments this season. As for Macy, in my three years of coaching at Salem that I can't think of anyone that is more team-above-than her," said Rymer. "I am happy to hear that she received this award because it is a great way to cap off her senior season."
Nelson ended the regular season with 90 digs (2.09 digs/set) in 14 conference matches. An all-around performer throughout the course of the season, she has amassed 151 digs (2.25) in 22 regular season matches. She has been a vital defender for the Spirits down the stretch, playing a key role in helping Salem to earn two five-set wins (Southern Virginia, William Peace) and a pair of three-set sweeps (Roanoke, Mary Baldwin) in November alone.
After recording four double-digit dig matches in the first 18 matches of the campaign, Nelson has energized the Salem defense with a 21-dig outing against Southern Virginia (Nov. 1) and a 20-dig match versus William Peace on Tuesday evening that helped the Spirits advance to the Semifinal Round of the USA South Conference Tournament for the second time in as many seasons.
For the second straight season Lopez was named as an All-Conference performer, after being named Honorable Mention All-Conference in 2022. The Ponce, Puerto Rico, native has put together an impressive senior season that has seen her reach 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in her career as well as breaking Bradley's single-season record for kills, which stood at 351, before Lopez notched 355 in 2023.
In the third set of the regular season finale against Mary Baldwin, Lopez drove home the second point of the frame for the Spirits, reaching the 1,000-kill mark in her Salem career. That allowed her to join Taylor Moulton and Kylie Taffer as the only three members of the 1,000-kill club at Salem. In that same moment, Lopez became the second Spirit to notch at least 1,000 digs and 1,000 kills in a career, joining Moulton with that distinction.
On Tuesday evening, Lopez had her 21st double-digit kill performance of the season, where she slammed home 11 in a five-set victory over William Peace. That moved her past Bradley's single-season kill mark. Lopez leads all Spirits in kills (355), which have come at a pace of 3.09 kills/set. She has also made her presence felt defensively with a team-best 367 digs (3.19 digs/set) along with 35 service aces, second-most on the team, and 19 blocks (14 assisted). Lopez has also moved her career double-double performances (kills-digs) to 45 in her Spirits' career.
Rymer earned her spot on the All-Conference unit by virtue of her consistency on the floor. The junior middle blocker topped the Salem lineup in hitting percentage (.313) on the season driving home 306 kills on 773 total attacks while committing just 64 miscues along the way. Averaging 2.66 kills/set, second only to Lopez, Rymer eclipsed double-digit kills on 14 occasions. Five of those double-digit kill outings have come in the last seven matches, where she tallied 17 in five-set victories over both Bob Jones (Oct. 28) and William Peace (Nov. 7). Her best single-match performance of the season came against Pfeiffer, where she delivered 19 digs and a .515 attack percentage in a four-set victory.
The China Grove, N.C. native also made her impact felt with a team-best 52 service aces, while making 223 assists (1.94 assists/set), serving as a backup setter with Ella Brameus missing time due to injury. Rymer has stonewalled opposing hitters with a team-high 73 blocks, including 24 solo blocks on the season.