SALEM, West Virginia - With the long summer break finally in the rearview mirror, the Salem Tigers Volleyball program under the direction of 2nd year head coach Matt Carpenter got the 2024 campaign underway this evening with a matchup against old WVIAC foe West Virginia Tech. The Golden Bears made the trip up to Salem from Beckley, and arrived to a raucous crowd in T. Edward Davis Gymnasium. The crowd gave the Tigers an edge in a tightly contested game, but the Bears ultimately prevailed 3-1. 

In the first set, Salem got off to a roaring start with the fans at their backs. They controlled a 16-11 advantage in the first set. However, West Virginia Tech was not about to go away that easily. The Golden Bears stormed back, and took control of set 1 27-25. 

A set behind now, the Tigers needed to respond quickly to stay in the game. They did just that with an emphatic second set. Salem got behind 2-1 early, but stormed back to take set 2 with a commanding 25-14 advantage. 

For set three, it was back and forth early on as both teams traded blows. West Virginia Tech held the edge though, and held off every Salem rally to take the 3rd set 25-19. 

In set 4, Salem fell behind early, and desperately needed to make a big run to turn the tides. They found the beginnings of that rally when they pushed the deficit to just 2 multiple times, but each time they were stifled by an experienced Golden Bear attack under the direction of Amber Linville. Therefore, Salem fell in the final set 25-17, and dropped the contest overall 3-1.

Despite the tough result, there were still some bright spots on the stats sheet for the Tigers. Newcomer Makenna Long led the way for the Tigers offensively with 16 kills, and Sydney Kopshina tallied 19 digs for Salem in her collegiate debut as well. 

Salem will need to bounce back quickly as they are set to compete in just 2 days time. They head up to New Philadelphia, Ohio to take on host Kent State Tuscarawas and Penn State Dubois in a tri-match on September 7th.