BATAVIA, Ohio - After contests at home or relatively near the Mountain State to open the season, the Salem volleyball embarked on their longest road trip of the season to this point on Wednesday night to take on the Cougars of Cincinnati-Clermont in Batavia, Ohio. Salem played well, and controlled the contest most of the way. However, a late Cougar rally spoiled the trip for Salem as they fell by a score of 3-2.

In the first set, Salem found themselves in a tight game from the opening moments of the contest.  Each team traded runs, but the Cougars ended up pulling away with a 25-23 win. From there, Salem took control of the contest back with back to back wins in sets 2 and 3 with 25-15 and 25-16 scorelines. The Cougars stormed back in the 4th set, winning it 25-20. That set the scene for an exciting 5th set with the game on the line. Unfortunately, Salem was unable to pull away with their first win of the season, and they fell by a 15-8 final set of the match. 

While the heartbreaking loss is certainly not how the Tigers wanted to leave things, there are some bright spots for Salem as they head into their next contest. For example, Noemi Combi led the team in scoring with 19 kills in the evening. Alayna Cox also filled her libero role well by recording a team high 23 digs. 

Salem will be looking to get rested and prepared for this weekend as they are set to play 3 games on Saturday, September 16th in Pikeville, Kentucky. They start off with an early morning contest against host Pikeville, before taking on Virginia University of Lynchburg, and Warren Wilson College.