PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania - After an up and down week, the Salem volleyball team headed up to the Steel City this evening to take on the Point Park Pioneers. It was a tightly contested match the whole way with the Tigers clawing their way into a set win. However, it would be the Pioneers who were able to seal the 3-1 victory up in Pittsburgh. 

In the first set, Salem had to shake off some rust, but battled back with a pair of service aces from Kayla Holbrook. However, the Tigers had a tough time keeping pace with the Pioneers, and Salem fell in set 1 25-13. 

For set 2, Salem got their groove back in a big way. They opened the set with 8 straight points with big kills from Makenna Long and Hailey Haynes. The Pioneers battled back, but Salem held off the Point Park advances with some continued strong offensive play from Jocelyn Rios and Sydney Kopshina. Therefore, Salem knotted up the contest at 1-1 by winning set 2 25-17. 

With set 3, the game devolved into a tightly contested back and forth ball game with neither team taking much more than a small lead. Salem got some impressive points with kills and a service ace from Noemi Combi, but it would not be enough for Salem to take a lead back. The Pioneers took set 3 25-14.

In the final frame, the Tigers had their backs against the wall. Salem had another tight contest on their hands in the 3rd set, but Point Park took an early lead. The Tigers battled right back behind a pair of kills from Tahnee Gerard, and they even took a slight lead at 20-19. Unfortunately, a late rally from the Pioneers spoiled Salem's comeback bid to take set 4 25-22 and the contest 3-1. 

From the scorer's table, Salem was led offensively by Makenna Long who tallied 13 kills. Defensively, Kayla Holbrook racked up 15 digs from her libero position in the lineup for the Tigers. 

Salem will need to regroup quickly ahead of two more road contests for the Tigers this week. First, they head down to Concord to take on the Mountain Lions on October 17th, and then head over to Glenville State on October 18th. Both contests are set for 7 PM.