WEST LIBERTY, West Virginia - After an extended home stay, the Salem volleyball team has been due for a few road games for some time now. That opportunity came on Tuesday evening when the Tigers made the trip up to West Liberty to take on the Hilltoppers. Salem kept things close, but ended up falling 3-0. 

In the first set, Salem fell behind initially, but surged back behind kills from Noemi Combi and Makenna Long. Unfortunately, the Hilltoppers opened things up well on their home floor to take set 1 25-13. 

For the next set, Hailey Haynes and Valentina Poti got the Tigers going with back to back kills to open the set. The Hilltoppers pushed right back to tie things up, and we had a back and forth ball game for much of the set. However, a late Hilltopper rally sealed set 2 for West Liberty 25-16. 

In the final frame, Salem had a tough time getting the offensive attack going. Yet, the Tigers regrouped and made some strides behind kills from Sydney Kopshina and Tahnee Gerard. Despite the improved play, the Hilltoppers proved too hot to handle for the Tigers to overcome on the road, so West Liberty took set 3 25-15 and therefore the contest 3-0.

Statistically, Salem was led by freshman Hailey Haynes and Sydney Kopshina who logged 5 kills each. Defensively, Kayla Holbrook led Salem defensively with 15 digs. 

Despite the loss, Salem still has a chance to get back on track this week. They head over to Elkins to take on the Davis & Elkins Senators on Friday, November 1st at 7 PM.