>OPPONENTS (November 3-November 9)
Salem at Meredith | Nov. 6 | 7 p.m.| Weatherspoon Athletic Center
Salem vs. Mary Baldwin | Nov. 9 | 12 p.m.| Varsity Gym
Salem vs. Roanoke | Nov. 9 | 4 p.m.| Varsity Gym
>SALEM HEADS INTO FINAL WEEK OF REGULAR SEASON BATTLING FOR LEAGUE CROWN
The Salem volleyball team heads into its final week of the regular season locked in a tight race for the USA South Conference crown. The Spirits enter Wednesday's match in a three-way tie alongside Methodist and Southern Virginia with all three teams boasting a 13-3 mark in conference play. Salem split the season series with both teams.
Southern Virginia took the first of two matches with Methodist on September 28th and the two will cap off the final match of the regular season with a bout in Fayetteville, N.C., on Saturday, November 9th at 12 p.m.
Greensboro sits in fourth place with a 12-4 mark in league play.
>BRADLEY BECOMES FASTEST SPIRIT TO REACH 1,000 KILL MARK
In a three-set victory over Eastern Mennonite on Saturday, November 2nd, junior outside hitter Aspen Bradley not only became the fastest Salem volleyball player to reach the 1,000-kill mark in their career, but she also regained her top spot as the program's single-season leader in kills (365).
Bradley, who finished with 23 kills in a two-match performance in Raleigh, N.C., became the fourth player in program history to top the 1,000-kill mark in the first set of a three-set victory over Eastern Mennonite when the two teams clashed as part of a tri-match at William Peace.
Bradley becomes the fourth member of Salem's 1,000-kill Club, joining Kylie Taffer, Taylor Moulton and Valeria Rosa Lopez as the only Spirits to accomplish the feat. Bradley reached the career milestone in 94 matches, becoming the quickest Salem player to reach 1,000 career kills.
Coincidentally, Bradley not only reached 1,000 collegiate kills, but she also regained the top spot in Salem history for most kills in a single season (365). Bradley ascended to that mark in 2022 with 351 in her first year, before Valeria Rosa Lopez passed the Redmond, Oregon, native with 362 last season.
Bradley is the second Salem player to top 1,000 career kills in 2024. Anna Rymer reached 1,000 kill in her collegiate career in a match against Methodist on October 15th. Rymer, who has 884 kills in her three years at Salem, came through with 205 kills in her one year at Ferrum.
>LEAH RYMER JOINS EXCLUSIVE USA SOUTH COMPANY
Salem first year setter Leah Rymer earned her fourth USA South Rookie of the Week honor of the 2024 campaign on Monday, November 4th in an announcement from the league office. Rymer places herself in exclusive company in conference history, becoming the seventh different player to earn the accolade at least four times in a single season.
Rymer also earned the USA South Rookie of the Week three times during October (7th, 14th, 28th). The USA South Conference, which first began handing out the weekly awards in the 2010 season, has seen six individuals win at least four Rookie of the Week honors. They include (season | number of weekly awards that season in parentheses): Dana Sandknop, Greensboro (2010 | 5); Nicole Barringer, Averett (2011 | 4); Jessie Kolden, Christopher Newport (2011 | 4); Karlie Long, Meredith (2013 | 6); Hannah Shields, Averett (2014 | 5); Keenan Marks, Averett (2015 | 5).
The Spirits have claimed eight USA South Conference weekly awards this season, including Rymer's four. Classmate Maia Johnson also notched three USA South Rookie of the Week honors in 2024, on September 9th, 23rd and 30th. Anna Rymer came through with USA South Player of the Week honors for the Spirits on October 21, 2024.
>SALEM BECOMES FIRST USA SOUTH PROGRAM WITH 20 WINS
With a series of victories against Pfeiffer and Bob Jones on October 19th, Salem became the first USA South Conference program to eclipse the 20-win mark in 2024. Furthermore, the Spirits are one of two current USA South Conference units, Methodist being the other, to have won 20 matches in each of the last three seasons. Greensboro also have a chance to equal that mark with a 19-7 overall mark.
>SPIRITS RUN HOME WINNING STREAK TO 16 STRAIGHT
The Salem tandem of Ellie Scherer and Aspen Bradley combined for 28 kills, including four each in the decisive fifth set as Salem earned its 16th straight home win (18-25, 25-18, 25-21, 23-25, 15-12) by knocking off Southern Virginia in a clash for first place in the USA South Conference standings at Varsity Gym on Wednesday evening.
In the decisive fifth set, with McKenzie Tullock in serve, two kills from Bradley and a slam off the hand of Leah Rymer helped provide Salem with a 5-0 lead. Timely strikes by Bradley, Abrielle Eckenroth and Scherer kept the Spirits in front, 9-5. Scherer delivered a trio of kills, driving home assists from Leah Rymer, as Salem forged in front 12-6. However, Southern Virginia retaliated to trim the margin to two, 13-11, before a kill by Anna Rymer followed by an attack error by Sydney Bassett resulted in the decisive Salem points.
Scherer led all Salem hitters with 15 kills (.225 attack pct.), while Bradley added 13 slam in 45 attacks. Maia Johnson narrowly missed the double-digit mark in kills, adding eight, while Eckenroth and Anna Rymer contributed eight apiece.
Leah Rymer was also a key component to the Salem victory with 46 assists, one shy of her single-match season-high, to go along with 14 digs. Tullock anchored the Spirits' back row with 18 digs, while Anna Rymer added 11. Makailey Albright was also solid defensively with nine digs and played a key part in the Salem service game.
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.
>SPIRITS WITNESS 13-MATCH WINNING STREAK HALTED, BUT FINISH 2-1 ON WEEK
A four-set setback on the road at William Peace halted Salem's program-record 13-match winning streak, but the Spirits remain in contention for the USA South Conference title after finishing 1-1 on the week in league play. Salem began the week with a five-set win over Southern Virginia, before suffering a setback to William Peace as part of a tri-match on Saturday, November 2nd.
at William Peace | Nov. 2: William Peace responded to an opening set loss against the Spirits to take the next three frames and even the season series at 1-1 by virtues of a 14-25, 25-23, 25-15, 25-14 triumph at home. Georgia Grace Anderson led the way with 11 kills, while Chassie Jacops and Madeline Simpson added nine kills apiece. Jordan Juanes led the defense with 19 digs.
Salem was led offensively by the duo of Aspen Bradley and Anna Rymer, who came through with 15 and 14 kills, respectively. Rymer reached the double-digit kill mark for the 15th time this season, boasting a .500 attack percentage along the way. Leah Rymer dished out 40 assists for the Spirits' offense, which struggled to find its rhythm with a .171 attack percentage.
McKenzie Tullock anchored the back row with 18 digs, a team-high, while Olivia Torres added 15 and Leah Rymer was responsible for 13 digs. Makailey Albright and Bradley also reached double-digit digs with 12 and 11, respectively.
vs. Eastern Mennonite | Nov. 2: After seeing its program-record 13 match winning streak snapped earlier in the day at the Hermann Center, Salem responded with an emphatic three-set victory (27-25, 25-10, 25-18) against Eastern Mennonite. The win by the Spirits just the third in the all-time series between the two programs.
Anna Rymer closed out the match with the team-high in kills (nine), followed by Bradley's eight. Maia Johnson delivered seven as the team closed with 36 as a unit. Leah Rymer capped off the match with 28 assists.
Leah Rymer notched a double-double with 13 digs, a team-best, while Makailey Albright converted 11 digs in the victory.
>LEAH RYMER REMAINS ON RECORD SETTING PACE
With 114 assists over the course of 12 sets last week, first year setter Leah Rymer joined Hannah Delcamp as the second player in program history with at least 900 assists in a single season.
Delcamp, who had two seasons with at least 900 assists, posted a program-record 978 in 2016. Three years later, as a senior, Delcamp dished out 906 assists, which stood at second-most entering the season.
Delcamp's 2019 mark became third-most as Rymer now has 927 to her credit in 2024. Rymer is now 51 assists shy of the program mark, averaging 8.35 assists per set in 2024. She has had at least 40 assists on seven occasions, including a single-match season-high 47 in a four-set match with William Peace.
>SCOUTING REPORT—MEREDITH
The two USA South Conference rivals met for the second time in a two-week stretch when they collide in Raleigh, N.C., on Wednesday evening at 7 p.m.
LAST TIME (vs. Meredith | Oct. 23): Aspen Bradley drove home a match-high 16 kills while Anna Rymer came through with a double-double (10 kills, 10 digs) to help the Salem volleyball team avenge a 2023 season-ending loss to Meredith by notching the first-ever sweep (25-16, 25-19, 25-20) of the Avenging Angels in program history at Varsity Gym on Wednesday evening.
The Spirits, who saw their season end with a setback last season in Raleigh, N.C., as Meredith marched to the USA South Conference championship, came through with 50 kills and a .341 attack percentage in the victory. That ties for the fourth-most kills in a three-set match in program history, alongside a 2022 performance versus N.C. Wesleyan.
Bradley drove home 16 of those 50 kills, while committing just one error in 33 attempts, as she posted a .455 attack percentage. Rymer also reached double-digit kills (10), while closing with a .357 attack percentage in 28 attempts. Both Abrielle Eckenroth and Maia Johnson came through with seven kills for Salem.
Olivia Torres led the Spirits in digs with 16 on the match, while McKenzie Tullock contributed 14. Johnson anchored the front row with two solo blocks, while Rymer had a pair of assisted blocks.
>SCOUTING REPORT—MARY BALDWIN
Salem hosts Mary Baldwin for its final USA South Conference match of the 2024 regular season. The Spirits will put their 16-match home court winning streak on the line in the first of two matches on Saturday afternoon.
LAST TIME (vs. 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.
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.
>SCOUTING REPORT—ROANOKE
Salem will face off against Roanoke for the sixth time in program history on Saturday, November 9th at Varsity Gym. The series between the two program first began with a five-set victory by Salem on September 9, 2017.
Five years later to the day, Roanoke came away with a five-set win over Salem. Since that point, the Spirits have earned three 3-0 wins over the Maroons, which came on October 17, 2022, September 8, 2023 and November 4, 2023.
Roanoke enters this week with a 15-10 mark and is 5-6 in Old Dominion Athletic Conference play. The Maroons are 5-6 on the road and 4-2 in neutral site matches.
Roanoke will host Eastern Mennonite on Wednesday evening before facing both Mary Baldwin and Salem at Saturday's tri-match.
