SALEM, West Virginia - In their return to the friendly confines of T. Edward Davis Gymnasium, the Salem Tigers volleyball team played host on Tuesday evening to a big local rivalry game against the Glenville State Pioneers. Salem battled with the Pioneers the whole way, but ultimately fell 3-0 in the match. 

For set one, Salem trailed initially, but put the pressure on the Pioneers quickly in response. Valentina Poti and Sydney Kopshina played well, and the Tigers rallied to get within a couple of points of the Pioneers at 17-15. Despite some big swings, the Tigers could not quite overcome the Pioneers and fell 25-19 in set 1. 

For set two, the Tigers put together their best offensive frame of the night. Salem jumped out in front quickly, and the Tigers appeared to be riding high early on as they led by as much as 5. The Pioneers were not going to go away that easily though, and both teams traded slim leads for much of the period. However, one last Pioneer push put the Tigers behind, and Salem fell 25-17 in set 2. 

For the final frame, Salem needed to throw everything they had at the Pioneers to get back into the contest. The Tigers had some strong runs behind some good offensive play from Jocelyn Rios, but it would not be enough for the Tigers to bridge the gap. Salem dropped set three 25-18, and the Tigers' home return was officially spoiled.

Despite the loss, Salem did have some building blocks to work off of on the stats sheet. The aforementioned Jocelyn Rios led the Tigers with 7 kills overall. Sydney Kopshina led Salem with 11 digs, and Arianna Parsley added 15 assists.

The Tigers hit the road this weekend for their next round of contests. In a tri-match hosted in Circleville, Ohio, they will face off with the host Ohio Christian Trailblazers and the Olivet Comets on Saturday, September 21st.