>OPPONENTS (October 6-October 12) 
Salem vs. Brevard | October 8 | 6 p.m.
Salem vs. N.C. Wesleyan | October 12 | 12 p.m.
Salem vs. Carolina U. | October 12 | 4 p.m. 

>SPIRITS CONTINUE LENGTHY HOMESTAND
The Salem volleyball team continues its lengthy homestand at Varsity Gym with three matches this week, including two against USA South Conference opponents Brevard (October 8) and N.C. Wesleyan (October 12).  The only non-conference clash will pit the Spirits against Carolina University for the second time in as many Saturday's, when the teams meet as part of a tri-match on Saturday, October 12th. 

>SALEM REMAINS PERFECT AT VARSITY GYM WITH WINS OVER PACERS, BRUINS
A pair of victories against William Peace (29-27, 23-25, 25-21, 25-12) and Carolina University (26-24, 25-19, 25-17) allowed Salem College volleyball to move its record to 13-4 overall and remain perfect at Varsity Gym in 2024 when the three teams collided in a tri-match on Saturday afternoon.

vs. William Peace | Oct. 6: Bradley drove home a single-match career-high 20 kills, posting a .306 attack percentage along the way, while Anna Rymer added 12 kills to lead the Spirits to a four-set victory (29-27, 23-25, 25-21, 25-12) in the first match of the afternoon against William Peace. 

Bradley was also active on defense with two assisted blocks and one solo block. Bradley and Bella Mann, who delivered two assisted blocks, helped Salem close with four solo blocks and eight assisted blocks as a unit. First year Leah Rymer was the catalyst to the Spirits' offense, with her single-season high 47 assists, as the team posted 61 kills and a .316 attack percentage. The 61 kills mark the second-most in program history in a four-set affair alongside clashes with Methodist and Pfeiffer in 2022 and another match with Pfeiffer in 2023. 

Leah Rymer completed her double-double performance by adding 20 digs, while McKenzie Tullock was responsible for 13. 

vs. Carolina U. | Oct. 6: Bradley continued her solid play in the three-set victory over Carolina, where she singlehandedly delivered 15 kills and a .464 attack percentage while converting five digs. Anna Rymer joined Bradley in double figure kills, coming through with 10, while Abrielle Eckenroth drove home six. 

Leah Rymer led the way for the offense with 34 assists, resulting in 47 total kills for Salem and a .248 attack percentage. Rymer teamed with McKenzie Tullock to lead the back row defense with 11 digs, while Tullock was responsible for 10. Sophomores Jolina Bun and Makailey Albright had six digs apiece and were integral parts of the Spirits' service game. 

>SPIRITS RUN HOME WINNING STREAK TO 10 STRAIGHT
On October 21, 2023, the Spirits claimed a 3-0 win over N.C. Wesleyan and since that point team has run off 10 consecutive victories at Varsity Gym. 

The streak moved to two later that afternoon with a sweep of Carolina University and continued in 2023 with triumphs over Bob Jones (Oct. 28), Southern Virginia (Nov. 1), Roanoke (Nov. 4) and Mary Baldwin (Nov. 4) in succession. 

The five-match winning streak was on the line in the 2024 season opener, which came against Greensboro on September 19th, but the Spirits prevailed in five sets to pick up their sixth victory. Salem followed that with wins over Pfeiffer on September 20th, both in straight sets, before reaching double figures on October 5th with wins against William Peace and Carolina University. 

>LEAH RYMER CLAIMS FIRST USA SOUTH ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
For the third time in as many weeks and the fourth time in the 2024 campaign a member of the Salem volleyball team has claimed the USA South Rookie of the Week. The league office designated first year setter Leah Rymer with the honor on Monday, after teammate Maia Johnson earned the distinction the last two weeks for the Spirits. 

Rymer was responsible for 120 assists (10.0 assists/set), 45 digs, nine kills and four service aces as the Spirits capped off the week with a 2-1 record last week. Rymer and the Spirits rebounded from a five-set setback to Southern Virginia to claim a four-set victory over William Peace and a sweep of Carolina University, extending the winning streak at Varsity Gym to 10 straight matches. 

Rymer opened her week with 39 assists, 14 digs and three kills in a five-set clash with Southern Virginia. She ran her streak of consecutive double-double's to four in the clash with the Knights. 

Three days later, in a clash with William Peace, Rymer posted her single-match season-high in assists (47), which resulted in 61 kills for the Spirits as a unit, second-most in a four-set match in Salem history. Rymer was not only instrumental on offense, but made her presence felt defensively with 20 digs, also a single-match season-high. That helped Salem limit the Pacers' offensive attack to a .199 attack percentage. 

Rymer's solid play continued into Saturday's finale, which came against non-conference foe Carolina University, where she delivered 34 assists, 11 digs and three kills in a sweep of the Bruins. Rymer and the Spirits kept their perfect record at Varsity Gym (5-0) intact in the win. 

Rymer joins Taylor Moulton, Maggie Hawks, Aspen Bradley, Jolina Bun, Adalyn Raney and Johnson as previous recipients of the USA South Rookie of the Week honor for the Spirits. 

>BRADLEY SLAMS HOME 20 KILLS IN VICTORY OVER WILLIAM PEACE
On Saturday afternoon Aspen Bradley not only equaled her single-match season-high in kills (20), a mark she originally established against Brevard on October 4, 2022, but she also became the fourth player in program history to accomplish the feat on multiple occasions during their Salem career. 

Bradley joins Hillary McPhatter, Kylie Taffer and Valeria Rosa Lopez to become the only players in Spirits history to drive home at least 20 kills on two occasions. Lopez owns the program mark for most 20-kill performances with three, including a single-match program-high (27), which came last season against Methodist. 

Bradley is not the only Spirit with 20 kills in 2024, she shares that distinction with teammate Maia Johnson, who came through with 20 at Brevard on September 24th. They became the third set of teammates in history to achieve that feat. The others include Taffer and McPhatter (2014) along with Anna Rymer and Bradley herself, who both had 20-kill outings in 2022. 

>ANNA RYMER CLOSING IN ON 1,000 CAREER KILLS
Salem middle blocker Anna Rymer is closing in on 1,000 career kills in her collegiate career. Rymer, who amassed 205 kills during her freshman season at Ferrum, has accrued 723 kills during the last three years at Salem. 

Rymer's best season to date came in 2023, when she drove home 309 kills (2.62 kills/set). Rymer enters the week needing 72 kills to reach 1,000 in her career. 

>SCOUTING REPORT—BREVARD
Brevard comes to Varsity Gym for a Tuesday match with Salem, who has claimed four straight wins in the all-time series. 

The two teams met on September 24th, one day after Maia Johnson laid claim to her second USA South Conference Rookie of the Week this season, and the first year 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. 

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.

>SCOUTING REPORT—N.C. WESLEYAN
Salem has posted seven consecutive victories over the Battling Bishops, including a 3-0 win in a non-conference clash earlier this season on September 7th at the Roanoke College Tournament. 

In that match, the Salem volleyball team moved its winning streak to four straight with a 25-14, 25-13, 25-14 triumph over N.C. Wesleyan. 

Salem capitalized on 45 kills and a .298 attack percentage, which included 13 kills (.455 attack pct.) from Maia Johnson and 12 kills from Anna Rymer. Rymer was highly efficient in her outing, committing just one miscue in 21 total attacks, to finish with a .524 attack percentage 

Ashlyn Wood and Leah Rymer, who tallied 18 and 17 assists, respectively, led the way for the offensive attack. Meanwhile, McKenzie Tullock led the way for the defense with 13 digs and junior classmate Ella Brameus added 10 digs to go along with six kills and two service aces.

>SCOUTING REPORT—CAROLINA UNIVERSITY
Carolina University returns to Varsity Gym for the second time in as many weekends when they face the Spirits on Saturday afternoon. The Spirits are 15-0 all-time against the Bruins, winning eight of those matches at Varsity Gym. The two programs first met on October 7, 2008.