Winston-Salem, NC - After a pair of home ODAC matches, the Hollins volleyball team went on the road for a non-conference showdown with Salem College.  It marked the first of two matches with the Spirits in the next three weeks, Salem will visit Roanoke for Hollins' home finale later this month.

Hollins started the match by winning the first point of the opening game.  However, Salem responded to take an early lead.  Hollins re-took the lead and started to increase their advantage.  After seeing a 16-9 lead disappear against EMU on Tuesday night, Hollins found themselves in the exact same position against the Spirits.  Tonight, Hollins used the experience gained against the Royals to hold onto the lead and finish off their hosts, 25-18, securing a 1-0 lead.  The home team didn't let their guests capitalize on their first game victory by taking an early lead in the second game and holding it throughout as Salem tied the match at 1-1 with a 25-21 win. 

With the pivotal third set starting, Hollins once again fell behind early but didn't allow Salem to pull away.  Hollins started to assert themselves at the net and quickly tied the game at 4-4.  From that point on, the two foes traded points with neither team enjoying more than a five point advantage.  With the game tied at 24-24, Hollins rattled off three of the next four points to secure a 2-1 advantage.  Looking for their first road win since September 9th, Hollins sought to put away their hosts.  With the score tied, Hollins went on a 7-2 run to gain some breathing room.  After three Salem points, Hollins once again gained the momentum and began to pull away.  As the last point was played, Hollins posted a fourth set victory on the back of 18 kills, giving Hollins the 3-1 victory.

Senior Rikki Martinez (Corpus Christi, TX) led a trio of Hollins players in double digits with 15 kills.  After posting a career high 16 kills on Tuesday, Deja Hadden (Norfolk, VA) added 13 kills while senior Emily Lowther (Woodbridge, VA) registered 10 kills on 28 attacks.  Setter Lela Moore (Woodleaf, NC) played a complete match with eight kills, 45 assists, 11 digs, a service ace, and a block.  Martinez added 20 digs helping play the back row with libero Haley Ortiz (Portsmouth, VA) adding a team high 25 digs.

Kylie Taffer led Salem with a match high 23 kills and Brandy Bednorz assisted on 48 of the Spirits 58 kills.

Hollins will enjoy some much needed time off for Fall Break before returning to action next week.  Hollins will travel to Bridgewater College on Tuesday night for an ODAC matchup.