>Site: 
Danville, Va. | Averett University Tournament | E. Stuart James Grant Center

>Results: 
Lynchburg 3, Salem 2 (25-21, 26-24, 24-26, 19-25, 19-17)
Salem 3, Averett 1 (25-22, 25-17, 19-25, 25-21)

>Records: 
Salem 1-1
Lynchburg 2-0
Averett 0-2

DANVILLE, Va. – Junior Aspen Bradley combined for 28 kills, notching 14 in each match, while teammate Jolina Bun was responsible for 42 digs, as the Salem volleyball team split the opening day matches at the Averett University Tournament on Friday evening. The Spirits suffered a setback in their opening match to Lynchburg, dropping their first five-set affair in nine attempts (25-21, 26-24, 24-26, 19-25, 19-17), before capping off the day with a four-set triumph over Averett (25-22, 25-17, 19-25, 25-21). 
 

Aspen Bradley and Anna Rymer converted 14 kills apiece and led five players in double-digit kills, in a five-set battle that resulted in a 3-2 victory by Lynchburg (25-21, 26-24, 24-26, 19-25, 19-17) in the opening match of the Averett University Tournament on Friday, August 30th. 

Bradley reached double-digit kills in 40 attempts, while Anna Rymer posted a .256 attack percentage while notching her 14-kill performance. Meanwhile, teammates Abrielle Eckenroth (13), Ella Brameus (10) and Isabella Mann (10) also notch double-digit kills. First-year Maia Johnson narrowly missed the mark with nine kills and two assisted blocks. 

Defensively, Salem received a pair of 20-dig outings from Jolina Bun and Brameus, who finished with 23 and 20, respectively. Leah Rymer chimed in with 13 digs, while handing out 23 assists, in her collegiate debut. Junior Ashlyn Wood led the way with 29 assists, while making 15 digs, and Olivia Torres also reached double figure digs with 15. Collectively, Salem tallied 108 digs, tying for the third-most in a single-match in program history. The most digs (124) came in a clash with Brevard on September 13, 2017. 

Makailey Albright completed her return to the court, after missing the entire 2023 season due to injury, competing in one match. 

FIRST SET: Lynchburg opened the match with a 25-21 victory, converting 15 kills and a .333 hitting percentage in the four-point win. Anna Rymer evened the match at 14 with a service ace, and despite Lynchburg moving in front 17-15, Salem eventually evened the affair at 20-all. The Hornets converted two kills down the stretch, outscoring the Spirits 5-1, to earn the win. 

SECOND SET: The Hornets grabbed a 2-0 lead in the match, 26-24, as both teams struggled to find their rhythm in the match. Lynchburg posted a .175 attack percentage. Brameus and Eckenroth drove home a kill each, helping Salem to grab a 5-3 lead early in the frame. Brameus teamed with Aspen Bradley to help the Spirits reach double figures, 10-6, with kills of their own. Lynchburg answered with a 9-3 run, moving in front 15-13, following an attack error. Ava Meinhardt drove home a kill to extend the Hornet advantage to 20-15. Salem would eventually even the match at 23, but Lynchburg scored three of the final four points to move in front by two. 

THIRD SET: Salem posted its first set victory of the 2024 season in the third frame, 26-24, coming through with 14 kills and forcing the Hornets into eight attack errors. Separated by just one point at the mid-way point of the game, Salem capitalized on a kill from Brameus along with three attack errors, to forge in front 15-10. Mann, along with Bradley, helped Salem to stay in front late, 21-19 with a series of kills. After reaching a climatic 24-all tie, Anna Rymer and Eckenroth drove kills past the Lynchburg defense to give Salem the two-point win. 

FOURTH SET: The Spirits clawed their way back in the contest, evening the match at two-all, with a 25-19 win. Salem's offense posted a .256 attack percentage, driving home 16 kills, while limiting the Hornets' to a .154 attack percentage and 13 kills. Looking to even the match, Salem reached a six-all deadlock early in the third following an error by the Hornets. Johnson and Bradley added kills, while Bradley and Anna Rymer came through with a block to make for a 15-7 contest. Eckenroth drove home a slam of her own, while Anna Rymer delivered on a kill, following a pass from Ashlyn Wood, to extend the lead to 18-12. Bradley and teammate Mann drove home a series of kills down the stretch to secure the 25-19 win.

FIFTH SET: The battle between the two units reached a decisive fifth set with Lynchburg grabbing an early 8-4 lead. However, the trio of Brameus, Wood and Eckenroth converted kills for Salem which eventually evened the contest at 12, following a slam from Mann. Five ties over the next 10 points resulted in a 17-all deadlock. A miscue on the Spirits' defense, coupled with a slam from Kailey Keough, provided the Hornets with the victory. 

Salem 3, Averett 1

Bradley and Anna Rymer again paced the Salem offense with 14 and 12 kills, respectively. Bradley was clicking on all cylinders with a .342 attack percentage, committing just one hitting miscue in the process. Rymer's dozen kills and a .281 attack percentage played a part in the Spirits combining for 54 kills as a unit. Another key contributor to Salem's offensive successes was Johnson, who notched nine kills and a .292 attack percentage. 

Bun anchored the backrow defensive efforts with 19 digs, while Leah Rymer added 15 to go along with 19 assists. Brameus was also multi-dimensional with 12 kills to go along with four kills. 

FIRST SET: The two units battled to an eight-all deadlock before Bradley and Brameus combined for three kills each in a four-point stretch, resulting in a 12-8 Salem advantage. Salem saw the margin trimmed to one point on three occasions before the Cougars drew even at 19 after a Spirits' miscue. Brameus and Anna Rymer got the offense back on track with a series of kills. With the frame knotted at 22, Anna Rymer clammed home a kill and combined on an assisted block with Ellie Scherer before Eckenroth delivered the decisive point with kill. 

SECOND SET: Averett stormed out to a 6-1 lead in the second, capped off by a slam from Emily McIntosh. But Scherer stepped up in the moment with a kill, while Leah Rymer picked up three points in serve to make for a 7-6 contest. With the score tied at 14, Scherer and Johnson combined for three kills, while Eckenroth added one of her own, stretching the Salem lead to 19-13. Three kills down the stretch by Bradley, coupled with a block from the pair of Anna Rymer and Bradley, resulted in the eight-point Salem win. 

THIRD SET: Averett enjoyed its best hitting percentage of the match (.220) in the third frame, notching 18 kills in the process. As a result, the Cougars established a 10-5 lead on a strike from Julianna Erickson. Salem would trim the margin to three on five occasions over the next 15 points, but it was a series of strikes by Erickson and Emma Nash that helped stretch the margin to 22-16. Hope Parrish and Sydney Mounce rattled home the final two kills of the set as Averett took the third frame 25-19. 

FOURTH SET: Salem saved its most kills (16) and best hitting percentage (.229) for the fourth set, as it brought home the first win of the season. The Spirits used kills from Johnson and Mann to break a four-all deadlock and assume the 8-5 lead. Bradley added two kills of her own, while Salem received strikes from Brameus, Anna Rymer and Eckenroth in succession to grab the 15-9 advantage. Bradley drove two kills past the Cougars' defense to provide the 21st point of the game. Despite being at match point, 24-17, following a strike by Anna Rymer, it was a kill from Eckenroth that halted a brief Averett run and provided the 25-21 win for the Spirits.