ATHENS, West Virginia - Despite already playing two games this week, the Salem Tigers Volleyball team headed up to Athens, West Virginia to take part in the Concord Classic. The Tigers took on Concord for a mid-afternoon contest, and then played Virginia-Wise the very same evening. Unfortunately for the Tiger faithful, Salem fell in both contests 3-0. The games played out as follows:

Concord 3, Salem 0

For much of the season, Salem has been able to get off to good starts and take the early leads. This contest against invitational host Concord went much the same way. However, another trend throughout the Tigers season has been conceding a lot of scoring chances later in sets that kill the Salem momentum. True to form, Concord would respond to the early Salem lead, and retake the set three straight times. From a statistical point of view, the Tigers are not without positives. Makhia Hinton logged an impressive 10 kills, and Gabriela Chaparro Coss would contribute 15 assists in the contest.

Virginia-Wise 3, Salem 0

In the nightcap, Salem had one more chance to get into the winning column for the first time this season. After dropping the first two sets, this contest saw the Tigers mount a strong effort to get back into the game. Both teams traded points down to the wire, but a late Virginia-Wise rally would give them a slim victory in the third set 25-22 to take the match. Statistically, Tahnee Gerard had a good game as she logged a solid 8 digs and 4 kills. 

Despite the disappointing start to this invitational, the Tigers have two more chances to make a mark in the winning column this season as they will take on Indiana (PA) at 11 am, and California (PA) at 5 pm on Friday, September 2nd.