UNIONTOWN, PA - This morning your Salem Tigers looked to bounce back after a tough loss in their first match of the USCAA Division 1 Women's Volleyball Championship. Today the Tigers faced off against the Fighting Scots from Lyon College (Ark.). Salem entered the morning match with an overall record of 5-24 and the Scots came in at 17-17.

Salem got the scoring started early in the first set as they opened it with five unanswered points to grab an early advantage. The Tigers didn't stop there. Salem kept their foot on the gas the entirety of the first set and never gave the Scots a chance to get back in it and make things competitive. The Tigers took the first set 25-9 and grabbed an early lead of 1-0.

Lyon College was able to find some life in the second set after a disappointing first. Salem still grabbed the early lead, but the Scots were still in the mix during the second set rather than playing from way behind. The Tigers led at 14-10 and looked like they were going to cruise ti another set victory, but before they had a chance to put the set away, Lyon began to turn the tides. They bombarded Salem by going on a 10-3 run and taking a lead at 20-18 with the set coming to a close. This was the first time the Tigers had truly felt pressure in the match and the Scots capitalized on the position they put the Tigers in. Lyon College took the second set 25-22 and tied the match up at 1-1.

As the third set began the Tigers seemed fatigued while the Scots seemed like they had begun to find their rhythm. The Tigers got down 11-5 early and needed to make something happen to get the momentum back in their favor. The Scots shut down any hopes of a momentum swing the Tigers had by scoring two in a row which forced Salem coach, Matt Carpenter, to call a timeout. Fresh out of the timeout Lyon kept the pressure on the Tigers by scoring two more to make their run 4-0 on Salem. Down 15-6 it looked like this third set was all but over. However, Salem had plans of their own. The Tiger offense came to life with their backs against the wall and single handedly brought them back from the brink. Salem pushed the set to extra points, but in the end the Scots lead was too much as the Tigers fell 26-24 and dropped another set.

With the sets scores 2-1 in Lyon College's favor the Scots looked to end the match while the Tigers looked to keep their tournament hopes alive. The scoring began fairly balanced, but Lyon began to take over after the first few points had been exchanged. The Scots built a 10-4 lead and once again seemed to be in a position to put the Tigers away early. Salem proceeded to go on a 5-2 run to cut the deficit to two points at 11-9 ad get back into the mix of things. Down two the Tigers played evenly with the Scots for the remainder of the match, but their inability to chip away at the lead cost them in the end. Salem fell to the Scots 25-18 and lost the match in four sets 3-1.

SALEM STAT LEADERS:

Kills: Nakyia Middleton (10)

Aces: Kayla Holbrook (5)

Blocks: Nakyia Middleton, Noemi Combi, Grace Deller (2)

Assists: McKenzie Clyncke (14)