SALEM, West Virginia - With a fresh win under their belt, the Salem Tigers volleyball team got right back on the floor this evening in T. Edward Davis Gymnasium. This time it was Wheeling who made the trip down to Salem, and the Tigers had their hands full with a historically strong Cardinal squad. Salem held their own for a time, but Wheeling proved too hot to handle on their way to spoiling the Tigers' return home 3-0.

In the opening set, Salem struggled to get the offensive attack going. Wheeling jumped out to an early lead, and maintained it throughout the set. The Tigers found some offensive output from kills by Hailey Haynes and Noemi Combi, but it would not be enough to keep pace with the Cardinals. Therefore, Salem fell 25-9 in set 1.

In set 2, Salem get back on track, and sprinted out to a 4-0 lead thanks to a pair of Jocelyn Rios kills. Salem battled with the Cardinals late into the set, but a final Cardinal push in the back end of the set was enough to pry the set away from Salem 25-17. 

For the final frame. The Tigers again opened well, and controlled the contest initially with some strong play from Makenna Long. However, the experienced Cardinal squad pushed right back, and rallied to take the final set 25-14, and therefore the contest 3-0. 

While the loss certainly stings for Salem, there are still some bright spots on the scoresheet for the Tigers. Makenna Long led Salem with 6 kills, and Noemi Combi added a pair of blocks. Arianna Parsley led Salem in assists with 14 and service aces with 2. Sydney Kopshina added 13 digs for the Tigers as well. 

The Tigers will be back in action again next week with a trip up to the Steel City. Salem takes on Point Park in Pittsburgh on Tuesday October 15th at 7 PM.