Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 SALEM, W. Va. (Oct. 7, 2017) – The Salem University Tigers volleyball team split its two games Saturday, falling to the Kentucky State University (KSU) Thorobreds in three sets before recovering to defeat the Bluefield State College (BSC) Big Blue in three.

Rachel Hess produced a volleyball double-double against BSC in the day's second match, recording a game-high 16 kills and 12 digs to lead the Tigers to 25-17, 25-18, and 25-23 victories.

For the match, Salem put together a 44-29 edge in kills, hitting .216, including a sizzling .324 as a team in the second set.

Head Coach Ashley Ziegle shared her thoughts after the match:
The Tigers set the tone in the first set, scoring 13 of the first 16 points, finishing it with 14 kills on 39 attacks and seven errors for a .179 hitting percentage. Hess totaled seven kills in the second set, showing chemistry with setter Feliciana Reed, booming shots down the line or finding spots with finesse. The Tigers had their best set of the evening, recording 15 kills on 34 attacks with only four errors.

Salem started the third and final set in a rut, committing four early attack errors to give Bluefield State a 6-0 lead. The Tigers battled back, doing a better job of setting the block, getting assisted blocks from Hess and Holt, and a solo block from Nina Isaac for the come-from-behind victory.

Reed finished the set with 19 assists and Jen Foreman had a team-high 13 digs and three aces. Holt finished with four blocks. Kathryne Mathis and Alessandra Marquez balanced out the attack with seven kills each.
In the first match of the day, KSU hit above .300 in two of the three sets to defeat the Tigers 25-20, 25-19, 25-19, hitting .333 in the first and third sets, and .270 in the second.

Makayla Martin led KSU with 13 kills, hitting .500 for the match. Hess led the Tigers with nine kills and Alaina Welts had four aces. Reed and Pluta had a combined 17 assists, recording 10 and seven, respectively.

The Tigers record is now 5-18 heading into a match against West Virginia Wesleyan College on Oct. 10 at 7 p.m. Salem will be on the road, where its record is 3-4. Salem's next home game will be Oct. 13 against Kent State University at Tuscarawas at 7 p.m.