>OPPONENTS (October 21-October 27) 
Salem vs. Meredith | October 23 | 7 p.m. | Varsity Gym
Salem at N.C. Wesleyan | October 26 | 12 p.m. | Everett Gymnasium
Salem at N.C. Wesleyan | October 26 | 2 p.m. | Everett Gymnasium

>SPIRITS FACING FOUR MATCHES IN FIVE-DAY STRETCH
The Salem volleyball unit makes a brief return to Varsity Gym for a clash with defending USA South Conference champions Meredith on Wednesday, October 23rd. However, the Spirits follow that with a road clash against N.C. Wesleyan in Rocky Mount, N.C., on Saturday at noon. 

>SPIRITS OPEN WEEK SECOND IN USA SOUTH CONFERENCE STANDINGS
With nine matches remaining on the 2024 regular season schedule, the Spirits enter the week with a 10-2 mark in USA South Conference play. That has Salem second behind Southern Virginia, which is 10-1, and in front of both Greensboro (9-3) and Methodist (8-3), who are third and fourth, respectively. 

>SALEM BECOMES FIRST USA SOUTH PROGRAM WITH 20 WINS
With a series of victories against Pfeiffer and Bob Jones over the weekend, Salem became the first USA South Conference program to eclipse the 20-win mark in 2024. Furthermore, the Spirits are the only current USA South Conference unit to have won 20 matches in each of the last three seasons. Two other programs, Meredith and Greensboro, also have a chance to equal that mark. Meredith is currently 12-7 overall, while Greensboro is 16-6. 

>WINS AT PFEIFFER GIVE SALEM ITS 200th PROGRAM VICTORY
The Salem volleyball team claimed its 200th program victory in a 25-19, 25-22, 25-13 decision over Bob Jones on the Pfeiffer campus in Misenheimer, N.C., on Saturday, October 19th. The win was seven years (2580 days) after the Spirits earned their 100th program win in a 3-0 decision (25-8,25-5,25-23) on September 26, 2017 under then head coach Kevin Troup. Coincidentally, it marks the third consecutive 20-win season for Salem, which moves to 20-4 with the combination of the win over the Bruins and a 3-0 triumph over Pfeiffer earlier in the day.

vs. Pfeiffer | Oct. 19: The Spirits capped off their 11th sweep of the campaign (25-21, 25-19, 28-26) behind a series of strong offensive performances from Anna Rymer (12 kills), Aspen Bradley (10) and Abrielle Eckenroth (nine), resulting in a .292 attack percentage and 49 total kills. First year setter Leah Rymer delivered 40 assists, which McKenzie Tullock added four of her own. 

Tullock was also one of the top back row defenders with 15 digs, while Makailey Albright closed with 13. Teammate Olivia Torres added 10 digs and was responsible for three service aces, a team-high. 

vs. Bob Jones | Oct. 19: Junior outside hitter Aspen Bradley drove home a match-high 16 kills, finishing with a .483 attack percentage in the process, while Maia Johnson added 10 kills of her own to help Salem emerge with a 25-19, 25-22, 25-13 win over Bob Jones in non-conference action. The Spirits finished with 49 kills and a .290 attack percentage as a unit, due in large part to 37 assists from Leah Rymer. 

The Salem defense played an integral part in the team's winning streak moving to nine, limiting Bob Jones to just 30 kills and into committing 19 miscues. McKenzie Tullock anchored the back row with 16 digs, while the trio of Leah Rymer (14), Anna Rymer (13) and Olivia Torres (11) also reached double figure digs. Johnson and Leah Rymer had three assisted blocks on the front row, while Anna Rymer added two of her own. 

>ADDING ANOTHER AWARD TO THE MANTLE PIECE
For the fifth time in as many weeks a member of the Salem volleyball team claimed a USA South Conference accolade. The award on October 24th went to senior middle blocker Anna Rymer, who earned the league's Player of the Week distinction in an announcement from the conference office on Monday. 

Rymer, who became the first player in program history to earn the same honor on September 25, 2023, joins first year's Maia Johnson and Leah Rymer as recipients of a USA South Conference distinction in 2024. Johnson earned three USA South Rookie of the Week awards in September before Leah Rymer laid claim to back-to-back USA South Rookie of Week distinctions in the first two weeks of October action. 

>SPIRITS RUN HOME WINNING STREAK TO 14 STRAIGHT
On a night in which Salem senior middle blocker Anna Rymer reached 1,000 kills in her collegiate career, the Spirits combined for 52 kills and a .301 attack percentage as they claimed a four-set win (18-25, 25-15, 25-17, 25-20) over USA South Conference rival Methodist. The victory stretched Salem's home court winning streak to 14 straight. 

Rymer, who came in two shy of the milestone, collected her second kill of the opening set and went on to finish with 12 in the match along with a .333 attack percentage. The Spirits were led offensively by Ellie Scherer, who drove home 13 kills and posted a .323 attack percentage, while teammate Maia Johnson delivered 10 kills and a .476 attack percentage. 

Salem also received nine kills from Aspen Bradley, who posted a .333 attack percentage, and seven off the hand of Abrielle Eckenroth. Leah Rymer handed out 41 assists on the evening, resulting in her fourth 40-assist match of the slate. 

The defensive back row of Makailey Albright (14 digs), Leah Rymer (13), Anna Rymer (11) and Olivia Torres stymied the Methodist offense and forced the Monarchs into committing 21 errors. Meanwhile, the front row of Johnson (six assisted blocks) and Scherer (five), helped Salem finish with 14 assisted blocks.

To put the current volleyball home winning streak into historical context, it ranks as the second-longest home winning streak on campus by any program in Salem history. The winningest home streak by a Salem athletic program is 24, which belongs to the soccer program. From October 18, 2014 through October 17, 2017, the Salem soccer program won 24 straight matches. 

The longest winning streak for the basketball program at Varsity Gym is 12, which spanned from January 22, 2013 through January 26, 2014. The softball team had a 10-game winning streak, which spanned from March 23, 2016 through February 17, 2017. 

>FROM ONE RYMER TO ANOTHER … LEAH REWRITING THE RECORD BOOKS
After closing out a perfect 4-0 week with 151 assists (11.62 assists/set), first year setter Leah Rymer moved into third place on the program's single-season assist mark. Rymer trails only Hannah Delcamp, who twice eclipsed 900 assists in a single season, among the top setters in program history. 

Delcamp set the program record in 2016 when she dished out 978 assists and again reached the 900-assist plateau in 2019 when she handed out 906. Rymer, who has 715 assists throughout the first 24 matches of the season, is averaging 7.94 assists/set this season. That is also third to Delcamp in a single-season, which is topped by Delcamp's 2016 (9.59 assists/set) and 2019 (8.88) performances. 

Rymer has at least 30 assists in 12 matches this season and has topped the 40-assist mark on five occasions. Her best single-match performance, 47 assists, came in a four-set victory against William Peace on October 5, 2024. 

>BRADLEY CLOSING IN ON 1,000-KILL CLUB MEMBERSHIP
Anna Rymer might soon have company as a member of the 1,000-kill club in her collegiate career as teammate Aspen Bradley is rapidly heading towards the quadruple-digit number. 

Bradley, who entered the season with 641 kills to her credit, has already equaled her 2023 mark in kills (290) with seven matches left on the regular season schedule. Bradley, who is not only averaging 3.22 kills/set, is doing so at a highly proficient level with a .341 attack percentage, a single-season career-high. 

Bradley, who has the second-most single-season kills in program history (351), is trying to regain the top mark in single-season kills from former teammate Valeria Rosa Lopez. Lopez set the mark last season with 362. 

When Bradley does reach the 1,000-kill mark, she will become the fourth player in program history to accomplish the feat. The others include Taylor Moulton (1,106), Kylie Taffer (1,059) and Lopez (1,023). 

>SCOUTING REPORT—MEREDITH
The defending 2023 USA South Conference champions enter the week with a 12-7 overall mark, including a 7-4 record in league play. The Avenging Angels are also 5-2 on the road after dropping a 3-0 decision by scores of 25-14, 25-15, 26-24 at Methodist on Saturday afternoon. 

Meredith has posted a 5-2 mark in October, claiming four three-set victories against USA South members Mary Baldwin, Pfeiffer, William Peace and Brevard along the way. 

The Avenging Angels are led offensively by the quartet of Caitlyn Russell (178 kills), Emma Duncan (148), Delaney Lowery (147) and Kinley Copeland (135). That group has helped Meredith amass 1,065 kills (15.00 kills/set) on the season. 

Defensively, Hannah Jo Jablonski leads the back row with 251 digs while the front row is anchored by Lowery's 51 blocks (39 assisted blocks). 

>SCOUTING REPORT—N.C. WESLEYAN
Salem will face N.C. Wesleyan for the third time in 2024 on Saturday. The first meeting took place at the Roanoke College Tournament on September 7th with the Spirits emerging by scores of 25-14, 25-13, 25-14. Just over a month later, on October 12th, Salem hosted the Battling Bishops as part of a tri-match that also brought Carolina University to campus. Salem also emerged victorious in that clash by scores of 25-14, 25-16, 25-13. 

LAST TIME (vs. N.C. Wesleyan, Oct. 12): The Spirits closed out their eighth consecutive win in the series with N.C. Wesleyan behind an 11-kill performance from Anna Rymer. Joining Rymer among the offensive leaders were Scherer, who closed with 10 kills along with Bradley and Eckenroth, who came through with nine kills apiece. 

With Leah Rymer quarterbacking the offense with 38 assists, Salem combined for 45 kills and a .394 attack percentage in the victory. Eckenroth posted a .615 attack percentage, while Scherer finished with a .533 attack percentage in the three-set win. Leah Rymer also came through with nine digs, while Albright, Tullock and Olivia Torres contributed six digs apiece.