RALEIGH, N.C. – Salem College women's volleyball split a pair of matches at the Peace Tri-Match on Friday, falling to Southern Virginia in straight sets before bouncing back with a 3-0 sweep over host William Peace at the Hermann Athletic Center. Salem closed the day with a 14-4 overall record and a 5-2 mark in USA South play.
MATCH ONE: SOUTHERN VIRGINIA 3, SALEM 0
SET 1 (Southern Virginia 25, Salem 19)
The opening set featured 12 ties and six lead changes as the two teams battled back and forth early. Salem held a 15-14 advantage before Southern Virginia regained the lead and used a late push to take the opening set, 25-19.
SET 2 (Southern Virginia 25, Salem 18)
Southern Virginia jumped out to an early advantage in the second set before Salem began to battle back. Trailing 18-13, Salem put together a 4-0 run to cut the deficit to one at 18-17. Southern Virginia responded down the stretch, closing the set on a 7-1 run to take a 2-0 match lead.
SET 3 (Southern Virginia 26, Salem 24)
Salem erased a sizable deficit in the third, rallying from 19-12 with an 11-0 run to take a 23-19 lead. The two sides eventually found themselves tied at 24 before Southern Virginia scored the final two points to secure the match.
MATCH TWO: SALEM 3, WILLIAM PEACE 0
SET 1 (Salem 25, William Peace 23)
Salem opened the match with a tightly contested 25-23 victory. The opening frame featured eight ties and six lead changes before Salem came away with the two-point win.
SET 2 (Salem 25, William Peace 23)
The back-and-forth battle continued in the second set, which featured 10 ties and six lead changes. Salem recorded 15 kills in the frame, its highest total of the match, to earn another 25-23 victory and take a 2-0 advantage.
SET 3 (Salem 27, William Peace 25)
Salem completed the sweep with another two-point victory in the third. The teams battled through five ties before Salem secured the 27-25 win to close out the afternoon.
INSIDE THE BOX
- Leah Rymer led Salem with 26 kills across the two matches, recording 16 against Southern Virginia before adding 10 against William Peace. She also totaled 29 assists and 16 digs.
- Ellie Scherer finished the day with 19 kills, including 10 in Salem's sweep of William Peace.
- Ariana Noplos recorded 12 kills on the day and was especially efficient against William Peace, finishing with nine kills and zero errors on 24 attempts for a .375 hitting percentage.
- Jolina Bun combined for 37 assists, dishing out 21 against Southern Virginia and 16 against William Peace.
- Sadie Lippard anchored Salem's defense with 43 digs, including a match-high 22 against Southern Virginia and 21 against William Peace.
- Salem's defense totaled 153 digs across the two matches, recording 73 against Southern Virginia and 80 against William Peace.
UP NEXT
Salem will travel to Fayetteville, N.C. to face Methodist University on Wednesday Oct 7th at 7 p.m.
