SALEM, West Virginia - After taking on old rival West Virginia Wesleyan on the road and on a neutral court already this season, the Salem Volleyball team wrapped up the season series against the Bobcats this evening with a home matchup. The Tigers rode the extra home court energy to some strong starts, but were ultimately unable to seal the deal; falling 3-0 in the contest. 

In set 1, the Tigers opened the contest with a 4-1 advantage early on behind some big kills from Valentina Poti and a service ace from Mikaela McEvoy. The Bobcats answered with a run of their own, and knotted things up at 8-8. Unfortunately, the Tigers fell victim to a major Bobcat rally from there, and fell by a final set score of 25-16. 

For set 2, Salem opened in a very similar manner to set 1. Salem took an initial 4-2 lead, but then grew it to a 9-5 advantage behind some strong play from Sydney Kopshina and Cyniah Winston. However, another big Bobcat flurry stung the Tigers again, and Salem dropped set 2 25-19. 

For the final set, it was the Bobcats who jumped out to an early lead, and Salem had to put the pressure on to get back into the contest. They made a valiant effort at just that thanks to a pair of service aces from Kayla Holbrook and kills from Jocelyn Rios and Noemi Combi, but it was simply too little too late. Salem conceded set 3 25-19, and therefore the match 3-0 to West Virginia Wesleyan. 

From the scorer's table, the Tigers were led by Hailey Haynes offensively with 7 kills alongside a block. Defensively, Mikaela McEvoy tallied up 9 digs to lead the team. 

Despite tonight's setback, it is still a young season for the Tigers and there is a lot of volleyball left to be played. Salem will get back on the court again at home on October 1st at 7 PM when they play host to the West Liberty Hilltoppers.