Salem Volleyball hosted a Senior Day double-header today where they took on William Peace and Averett. The Spirits took down the Pacers 3-2 and the Cougars 3-0.

Salem started out their afternoon with their Senior Day ceremony for the six athletes graduating this year. Here is what what said about each one: 

Our first senior is #2, Ella Brameus, an Outside Hitter from Chicago, Ill, majoring in Exercise Science. Escorting Ella is mom Aija and dad Claes. Ella is a four-year player who has competed in 98 matches and 309 sets, racking up 542 kills, 748 digs, and 144 aces. Ella has received 2 player of the week nods, is ranked 2nd all time in aces, and is top ten all time in points scored, total attacks, and digs. Coach Rymer says "Ella came into Salem and had a huge impact on our program. She unfortunately had some injury issues, but I am so proud how she has come back her senior year and done some amazing stuff this year. She has been in the top ten in the conference in aces per set and points scored. I am excited to see what the future holds for Ella.." Outside of volleyball, Ella is also involved in Salem Scholars. After graduation, she plans on going to PTA school. Thank you, Ella! 

Next up is senior #4 Aspen Bradley, a Middle from Redmond, OR majoring in Biology and Health Science with minors in chemistry and public health. Escorting Aspen is mom Stephanie and dad Justin. Aspen is a four year player who has competed in 130 matches and 470 sets. She has racked up 1460 kills, 211 blocks, and 370 digs. Aspen has received 3 player of the week nods, has been named First and Second Team All-Conference, was named to the 2024 All-Tournament team, holds the record for all time and single season kills, all time and single season hitting percentage, and is ranked 6th in the nation for hitting percentage. Aspen also received the Anne Woodward Student Athlete of the Year award in 2023. Coach Rymer says, "Aspen has been a program changing player for Salem. She helped lead our program to an incredible record and set many records along the way. She will leave as the All Time Kills Leader at Salem. She has over 1400 kills in her career. It has been an honor to be her coach and she will be missed.." Outside of volleyball Aspen is involved in Morgan's Message and SAAC. After graduation, she plans to attend medical school. Thank you Aspen! 

Our next senior is #15, Alysa Thombs, a Right Side from Chesapeake, VA, majoring in Public Health and Health Science. Escorting Alysa is mom Avery, stepdad Mark, and sister Addy. Alysa is a four year player for Salem who is also involved in SGA, Morgan's Message, Rotaract, Soar with Salem, Black Youth Wellness Advisory Board, Summer League Volleyball, the Admissions office, and has 40+ volunteer hours at First Harvest Food Bank. She is also a part of the Honors College, received the Deep Creek Faculty Scholarship and Salem Scholar award, as well as making the Deans List three times. Alysa plans on going to grad school to study occupational therapy, which she has been working toward with over 40 observational hours and participating in the OT Academy and Allied Health Career Exploration at VCU.  Coach Rymer says  "Alysa has been very involved in the Salem College Community. She has excelled in the classroom, with clubs and student government. Alyssa has been an amazing team player and will be missed.." Thank you Alysa! 

Next up is senior #20 Jacie Jarvis, a Middle from Kings Mountain, NC majoring in Health Science and Public Health. Escorting Jacie is mom Dwan and dad Jason. Jacie is a four year player, who has competed in 46 games and 84 sets. She is also a Salem Scholar Coach Rymer says,  "Jacie was one of my first recruits. She is the ultimate team player. She will give 100 percent on the court and will do the same cheering off the court. She always gives her best and it has been a joy to be her coach." After graduation, she plans to get her BSN and then pursue a doctorate as a CRNA. Thank you Jacie!

Our next senior is #21, McKenzie Tullock, a Defensive Specialist from Charlotte, NC, majoring in English, Communications, and Media. Escorting McKenzie is mom Anissa and dad Todd. McKenzie is a four year player who has competed in 79 matches and 222 sets, racking up 640 digs and 29 aces. She has the fifth most single-season digs with 417 from the 2024 season and received the Coaches award the same year. Outside of volleyball, McKenzie is the Assistant director of the Center of Women's Writers and received the Program Prize Award from the Communications and Media Department for a 4.0 GPA. Coach Rymer says  "McKenzie probably loves volleyball more than anyone. She didn't get to play as much as she wanted her first couple years but then she earned her spot and had an amazing Junior season. Unfortunately this year she had a season ending injury, but she has been a very supportive teammate. She is excited to get healthy and play beach volleyball.." Thank you McKenzie! 

Finally, we have senior #25 Bella Mann, a Right Side from Kitty Hawk, NC, majoring in Design. Escorting Bella is mom Christina, dad Chris, and brother Emerson. Bella is a four year player, who has competed in 44 matches and 122 sets. Coach Rymer says,  "Bella has been a joy to have on the team . She has truly blossomed as a person during time at Salem and I am very proud of her. She has also made a lot of contributions on the court this season. I am excited to see what she does in the next chapter of her life." Bella is also a Salem Scholar. After graduation Bella plans to pursue her own faith-inspired fashion brand with a mission to make designs that make every woman feel confident, valued, and uniquely made. She is so grateful to have had the opportunity to play for Coach Rymer and Coach Coats. She also feels super blessed to have such a supportive and encouraging community around her, especially her family, friends, and teammates. Thank you Bella! 

The Salem Seniors have left a big mark on Salem Volleyball. This group has totaled an overall record of 98-32 over 4 years. They have an incredible 47-6 record at home and 51-20 record in conference play. They broke records for most attacks, most kills, most kills per set, highest hitting percentage, most assists, most assists per set, and most digs in a season. The group has many individual accomplishments and as a team last year captured a regular season conference championship. 

William Peace came into the matchup firing, winning 11 of the first 13 points. The Spirits were quick to answer, slamming home two straight kills from Senior Ella Brameus firing up the Salem offense. They then went on to win eight straight points to tie it up at 14. Neither team was able to string more than two points together, with the score being tied six more times before the end of the set. WPU ultimately found a final push of momentum, winning four straight to propel them to take set one 25-23. 

Salem, wanting to bounce back, took an early hold of set two by winning eight of the first ten. The Pacers provided an answer of their own, going on a five point run to bring the score within one. Another competitive set ensued, with both teams trading points back and forth. While Salem kept the lead for the remainder of the set, WPU was never more than a few points behind. The Pacers were able to save one set point, but a kill from Senior Bella Mann finished it off with a 25-23 result. 

Set three brought the Pacer's largest margin of win, finishing at 25-18. While the Spirits showed some good moments, they were unable to stop the solid offense from WPU. A bright spot for Salem came midway though the set, where they won eight out of 11 points to bring it back within three. Sadie Rich, Ariana Noplos, and Senior Aspen Bradley all snagged kills in this stretch. 

Salem found their stride again in set four, with a dominant start that propelled them to their own 25-18 win. The Spirits racked up 15 kills with only one error, hitting at a .318 clip. Five different Spirits secured at least one kill, including two from Libero Madison Bozarth. Their largest lead came at 17-7, which was also the largest deficit of the entire contest from either team. The Pacers were able to find their offense again, eight of the next 10 to bring the score within four. Brameus scored the final two points with her fourth and fifth kills of the set.

The Spirits finished out the matchups playing their first five-set home match of the season. After dropping the first point, Salem held the lead for the remainder of the contest, never letting the Pacers string more than two points together. Six different Spirits secured skills in this short set, including setter Leah Rymer. WPU kept it close near the end, pushing it to 12-10 in favor of Salem. Three straight points sealed the deal, finishing off the matchup with a 15-10 set five win.

With this win, Head Coach Barry Rymer secured his 100th win with the Spirits, which he achieved in five seasons. 

This also marks Salem's 14th conference win, securing them the #3 seed in the USA South Conference Tournament, guaranteeing them to host at least one contest. 

Wanting to continue building on today's success, the Spirits took on a non-conference opponent in Averett. Salem started out set one with a bang, securing 16 kills with just two errors and hitting at .412. This set also brought their best run of the day, winning 13 straight served by Aspen Bradley to go up 20-4. This streak brought eight of their kills from this set. The Cougars were able to string a few more points together near the end, but kills from Katelynn Miller, Ellie Scherer, and Aspen Bradley sealed the deal. 

The Spirits had another strong start in set two, winning six straight to go up 9-4. Scherer continued to have a strong showing, backed up with a kill from Senior Alysa Thombs. The Cougars were starting to find some answers for the Salem attack, not letting the Spirits secure another long run. Despite Averett heating up, Salem stayed strong and put the dagger in with four straight kills from Bradley, Thombs, and Mann to go up 22-14. The Cougars found five more points before the set was finished, but served an untimely error to give Salem the 25-19 set two win. 

Averett was determined to not go down easy, finding an early 12-7 lead in set three. The Spirits capitalized on some Cougar errors to fire back and tie it up at 12. Averett found one more spurt of strong offense to go up 16-12 before Salem took back control. Winning 13 of the next 16 points, the Spirits wore down the Cougar attack, winning four of their last six points on their error. 

After a successful day of Salem Volleyball, the Spirits will next be in action on Tuesday at 6pm where they take on #6 seed Pfeiffer in the first round of the USA South Conference Tournament.