Site: Winston-Salem, N.C.

Score: Salem 3, Roanoke 0 (26-24, 25-16, 25-19)

Records: Salem (16-6) / Roanoke (9-11)

Up Next: Salem at Southern Virginia (Oct. 20 / 6 p.m.)

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — The Salem volleyball avenged a five-set loss to Roanoke on September 9th with a decisive three-set victory (26-24, 25-16, 25-19), improving to 16-6 on the season, on Monday, October 17th at Varsity Gym.

The Spirits, who finished with 47 kills and committed just 11 miscues over the course of the match, posted a .321 attack percentage. The individual offensive leaders were Anna Rymer and Abrielle Eckenroth, who tallied 11 kills apiece, along with Valeria Rosa Lopez, who closed with 10 kills. Eckenroth was firing on all cylinders throughout the course of the match, posting a .435 attack percentage in 23 total attacks. Meanwhile, Rymer and Lopez finished with a .318 attack percentage.

Ashlyn Wood handed out a team-high 25 assists, while Ashlee Peek closed with 17 for the Spirits. Ella Brameus added five kills (.385 attack percentage) and Aspen Bradley drove home eight kills.

Defensively the Spirits got six assisted blocks, including three from Taylor Alleyne, who returned to the lineup for the first time since suffering a broken ankle in the preseason. Rymer also positioned herself for three assisted blocks.

The back row was led by Brameus and Lopez, who shared the match-high in digs with 11. Macy Nelson also returned to the lineup for Salem, closing the match with nine digs.

FIRST SET RECAP
The duo of Bradley and Rymer drove home three kills apiece as Salem posted a .294 attack percentage in the opening frame. The two teams battled through six ties to reach a 12-12 deadlock following a kill by from Payton Kirchner. Rymer followed with a block and a kill of her own to give Salem a 15-13 lead. Roanoke answered to knot the contest at 15, but a kill from Brameus along with assisted blocks by Alleyne and Rymer kept Salem in front 20-19. After falling behind by two, Salem eventually tied the frame at 23, before a kill from Rymer delivered the decisive 26th-point.

SECOND SET RECAP
Salem found its offensive rhythm in the second set, finishing with a .419 attack percentage, including seven off the hand of Lopez. Streaking out to a 9-3 lead, the Spirits quickly reached double figures on a slam from Rymer. Eckenroth and Bradley drove home kills for Salem that stretched the lead to 18-10 with Brameus in serve. Rymer penetrated the Maroon defense with three kills, while Lopez and Eckenroth added slams of their own to help Salem claim the 25-16 win.

THIRD SET RECAP
Roanoke retaliated from a 4-1 deficit to pull the third set even at six-all in the early stages, but it was back-to-back Bradley kills that got the Salem offense back on track. Eckenroth added a kill and Wood came through with a service ace that forced a Roanoke timeout with Salem leading 17-12. The duo of Eckenroth and Rymer pushed the lead to 19-15. Rymer delivered two critical kills for the Spirits that stretched the margin to 23-17 before Lopez and Bradley closed out the match with a series of kills of their own.

SALEM NOTES
-The 3-0 win marks the 10th straight set victory for Salem this season. That moves the 2022 unit into a tie with the 2016 team for second-most straight set wins, two shy of tying the 2017 unit for the program record (12).
-The victory extends Salem's current winning streak to three, marking the fifth time this season that the Spirits have won at least three straight matches.
-The 2022 team is now 6-2 at Varsity Gym on the season, tying the 2016 unit for the third-most home wins in program history. Only the 2017 team (10 wins) and 2008 unit (nine) have more home wins in a single-season.