Salem University fell to Ohio Valley University 25-14, 25-19, 25-11 in NCAA Division II volleyball Tuesday at Vienna, W.Va. Makhia Hinton had six kills for the Tigers, who were playing in their final road contest of 2019.
 
Salem snapped back from a first-set loss by jumping out to a 6-0 lead in the second set. After Ohio Valley cut the margin in half, Breslyn Argo and Yesenia Munoz combined on a block to stop the run. After the two teams exchanged service errors, Ohio Valley rallied to tie the set 8-8.
 
Jalavia Johnson recorded a pair of kills to put Salem back on top and Hinton added kills on back-to-back points to give the Tigers a 14-11 advantage. The Fighting Scots pulled within a point, but an ace by Kyana Cardenas and another block by Argo and Munoz extended the Tigers' lead to 18-14.
 
Ohio Valley came back with five unanswered points to take its first lead of the set. Anna Veryser's kill evened the score at 19-19, but the Fighting Scots scored the final six points to take a two-set lead.
 
After falling behind 9-4 in the third set, Salem rallied with a three-point run on kills by Munoz, Johnson and Hinton. The Tigers answered a side out with a kill by Argo and an ace by Lenka Jakovljevic to pull within 10-9. But that was as close as Salem would get as Ohio Valley pulled away to secure the match.
 
Johnson and Liane Moser finished with four kills apiece, while Cardenas recorded 18 assists. Munoz and Johnson shared match-high honors with three blocks apiece. Alaina Weltz led the Tigers with nine digs.
 
Salem concludes its 2019 season this week with a two-match homestand at T. Edward Davis Gymnasium. The Tigers play host to Concord University Wednesday at 7 p.m. and to Bluefield State College Friday at 5 p.m.