>OPPONENTS (Week of Sept. 29-October 5) 
Salem at Southern Virginia | October 2 | 6 p.m.
Salem vs. William Peace | October 5 | 12 p.m.
Salem vs. Carolina U. | October 5 | 4 p.m. 

>SPIRITS FACING THREE MATCHES IN THREE-DAY STRETCH
The Salem volleyball team is facing a three-match in three-day stretch against USA South Conference rivals Southern Virginia (October 2), William Peace (October 5) before facing Carolina University (October 5) in a non-conference clash to conclude the weekend on Saturday. The match with Carolina University was originally set to be Warren Wilson, but due to the devastation in Western North Carolina the Owls are unable to travel. 

>RECAPPING MATCHES WITH BREVARD, MARY BALDWIN
The Spirits made treks to both Brevard (September 24) and Mary Baldwin (September 28) last week as part of their current three-match road trip. Salem emerged with a five-set win in Brevard before notching its fifth 3-0 victory of the campaign in a meeting with Mary Baldwin.  

at Brevard | Sept. 24: One day after laying claim to her second USA South Conference Rookie of the Week this season, Salem's Maia Johnson became the 13th player in program history with at least 20 kills in a match. Johnson, who tallied 20 kills and a .289 attack percentage, was one of three Spirits to have double-digit kills as the team won its fourth straight match by scores of 25-16, 21-25, 17-25, 25-21, 15-12 at Brevard on Tuesday evening. 

Joining Johnson in double-digit kills were Aspen Bradley (14) and Ellie Scherer, who finished with 10. First year setter Leah Rymer handed out 42 assists, leading the way for an offense that tallied 59 kills and a .236 attack percentage. 

McKenzie Tullock showed off her defensive skills with 20 digs, while Makailey Albright was active with 16. Leah Rymer completed her double-double performance with 12 digs, while Jolina Bun also reached double figures with 10 digs. 

Salem, which improved to 8-1 in its last nine five-set affairs, used a Johnson slam to even the fifth set at five-all. Johnson and Ella Brameus added two kills in a three-point stretch, resulting in an 8-5 lead, before Leah Rymer took advantage of a kill to help stretch the margin to 10-7. Johnson and Anna Rymer provided a series of kills, making for a 14-11 contest, before a slam off the hand of Ella Brameus completed the 10th win of the season.

at Mary Baldwin | Sept. 28: The Salem volleyball team extended its winning streak to five straight as the Spirits posted their fifth 3-0 sweep of the season with a 25-22, 25-13, 25-14 victory at Mary Baldwin in Saturday afternoon USA South Conference volleyball action. 

Individually, first year Maia Johnson led the way for the offense with 12 kills and a .500 attack percentage, committing just one error on the afternoon. She was one of four Spirits with at least five kills, including Aspen Bradley (eight), Anna Rymer (seven) and Jacie Jarvis (five). Collectively, Salem finished with 41 kills and a .330 attack percentage, as Leah Rymer handed out 19 assists and Grace Royer dished out 14. 

McKenzie Tullock piloted the Salem defense with 12 digs, while Anna Rymer came through with 11. Leah Rymer was also active with 10, completing her seventh double-double of the campaign. The Spirits were also active on the front row with seven solo blocks, including four from Johnson. 

>JOHNSON'S THIRD ROOKIE OF THE WEEK COMPLETES STELLAR SEPTEMBER
First year Maia Johnson concluded a dominating September for the Spirits volleyball team by claiming her third Rookie of the Week honor this month. The announcement, which came from the USA South Conference office on Monday, not only marks the third of month, but her second in as many weeks.

Johnson becomes the only player in Salem's volleyball history to win three Player of the Week honors over the course of their career. She broke a tie with Zy Henderson and Roslyn Nixon, who earned a pair of Great South Player of the Week honors in the 2013 and 2014 seasons. 

Additionally, Johnson brought home the eighth Rookie of the Week distinction for the Spirits since joining the USA South Athletic Conference. By accomplishing that feat, Johnson becomes the first player to earn back-to-back Player of the Weeks for the program in either league. 

Last week, Johnson helped the Spirits move into first place in the USA South Conference standings with a pair of victories against Brevard (Sept. 24) and Mary Baldwin (Sept. 28). Those two wins not only moved Salem to 4-1 in league action, but they also help extend its current winning streak to five matches. 

The Mineral Wells, W. Va., native ended the week with a combined 32 kills in 67 total attacks, boasting a 4.00 kills/set average along with a .358 attack percentage in eight sets played. Additionally, Johnson converted five solo blocks for Salem's front row. 

Johnson began her week by having the 13th match with at least 20 kills in program history, finishing off a five-set victory against Brevard with 20 kills in 45 total attacks. The ninth different player in Salem history with 20 kills, Johnson was one of three Spirits to top the double-digit kill mark. In the meeting with Brevard, Johnson also contributed three digs and one solo block. 

Johnson's week drew to a close with a sweep of Mary Baldwin, marking the fifth sweep of the season by the Spirits. She drove home 12 kills, posting a .500 attack percentage in the process, after committing just one attack error in 22 attempts on the afternoon. Johnson capped off the match with four solo blocks, tying for the sixth-most solo blocks in a single-match in Salem history. 

Johnson has dominated September action for the Spirits, who were 9-1 overall and 4-1 in league play in the USA South during the course of the month. In 38 sets during the month, she amassed 115 kills (3.03 kills/set) in 233 total attacks, committed just 31 miscues and is boasting a .361 attack percentage. She also made 17 total blocks, including seven solo blocks, while converting 11 digs.

>BRADLEY REGAINING HER FIRST YEAR FORM
Oregon native Aspen Bradley wasn't far off the pace set by teammate Maia Johnson in September, closing with 107 kills (2.82 kills/set) and a .312 attack percentage during the 10-match month. 

Bradley has regained her first year form as she leads the team in kills (160), kills/set (2.91) and total attacks (382) this season. Bradley, who has the second-most single-season kills in program history (351), is the third-most efficient hitter for the Spirits this season with a .327 attack percentage. 

Bradley, who has reached the double-digit kill plateau in 11 of 14 matches this season, holds a slight edge over both Johnson (156) and Anna Rymer (137) in kills this season. Bella Mann needs just eight kills to join the trio with at least 100 kills this season.

>TULLOCK EMERGING AMONG DEFENSIVE LEADERS
One of the key reasons that the Spirits have gone 9-1 during September was the all-around play of the Salem defense. Among those solid defenders is McKenzie Tullock, who emerged with 132 digs (4.00 digs/set) during the month, helping limit opposing offenses to just 402 kills (10.5 kills/set) and a .151 attack percentage. 

Tullock has managed double-digit dig performances in seven outings, all resulting in Salem wins. She twice finished with at least 20 digs, which came in five-set outings with Greensboro (Sept. 19) and Brevard (Sept. 24). 

A total of five Spirits had at least 50 digs for the unit in September. Joining Tullock with at least 50 digs during the course of the month were Leah Rymer (85), Ella Brameus (67), Olivia Torres (66) and Jolina Bun (56). 

>ANNA RYMER BLOCKING THE OPPOSITION
While Tullock and her teammates have provided depth in the Salem back row, one of the top defenders this season for the Spirits through the first 14 matches on the front row has been senior middle blocker Anna Rymer. 

Rymer, who has 32 blocks on the slate, has amassed 23 assisted blocks in 2024. Rymer has come through with 75 (2022) and 74 (2023) total blocks in each of her first two seasons. She needs just 19 more total blocks to join Kathryn O'Connell as the only Salem player with at least 50 blocks in three seasons. 

Rymer, along with Maia Johnson (27 total blocks) and Aspen Bradley (23), have developed a formidable front row that is averaging 1.24 blocks/set. 

>SCOUTING REPORT—SOUTHERN VIRGINIA
The Knights enter the week with a 6-9 overall record and a 3-1 mark in USA South Conference play. Southern Virginia has played just two matches at home, where they are 1-1 on the season. 

Salem catches the Knights at a time that they are on a three-match winning streak, claiming victories over N.C. Wesleyan (3-0), Mary Baldwin (3-0) and Methodist (3-1) in succession. It marks the longest winning streak of the season for Southern Virginia, which opened the campaign 0-5, including losses to Dickinson, Messiah, Susquehanna and York College of Pennsylvania at the Gettysburg Tournament. 

The trio of Sydney Bassett (191), Brookelyn Madland (141) and Breanna Clyde (133) lead the way in individual kills for the Knights, who are averaging 14.54 kills/set. Meanwhile, Ruby Blamires has led the way in assists with 491. 

Gracie Fulton has anchored the back row defense with a team-best 270 digs, while the front row is led by Summer Hahn, who has 43 total blocks, including a team-best 10 solo blocks. 

>SCOUTING REPORT—WILLIAM PEACE
William Peace enters the week with a 10-5 record and are 3-1 when facing teams from the USA South. Before suffer a five-set loss at the hands of intracity rival Meredith, the Pacers had won six straight matches, including a series of 3-0 triumphs over Pfeiffer, Greensboro and Mary Baldwin. 

The Pacers are led on offense by the combination of Jordan Juanes and Chassie Jacops, who have 171 and 128 kills, respectively. Teammate Megan Brylski has dished out a team-best 530 assists (9.30 assists/set), leading the way for a unit that is averaging 15.74 kills/set. 

On defense, Vivian Camplin's 231 digs are tops for the Pacers and she is one of five players on the team with at least 100 digs. Meanwhile, Jordan Chinigo has 26 blocks (22 assisted blocks) to lead the front row. 

>SCOUTING REPORT—CAROLINA UNIVERSITY
Carolina University heads into its match against Salem with a 7-3 overall mark before playing Johnson C. Smith in a clash on Tuesday evening. 

The Bruins have claimed wins in four of their last five matches, a stretch that began with a 3-1 triumph over Johnson & Wales (Sept. 13) and included victories against Livingstone (3-0), Paine College (3-0) and Johnson & Wales (3-0) on September 28th. The only setback was a 3-0 decision to Converse on September 17th. 

Sion Murrain leads the Bruins in kills with 63 this season, average 2.42 kills/set along the way, while teammate Kamra King has dished out 144 assists for a unit that is averaging 12.42 kills/set. 

On defense, Rebecca Walker is leading the unit with 84 digs (3.00 digs/set), while Kammie Naude leads the way in blocks with 12. She has 11 solo blocks along the way.