BREVARD, N.C. - The Brevard College volleyball team (7-22, 4-13 USA South) battled down to the wire in a five-set thriller, coming up just short against Salem (24-6, 13-4 USAS) 3-2 (22-25, 25-17, 25-21, 23-25, 15-6) on Tuesday evening at the Boshamer Gymnasium.
 
The result marked the third five-set match of the season for the Tornados. 
 
BC opened up with a three-point set one win, 25-22, but fell in the next two frames by finals of 25-17 and 25-21. The Tornados answered back with a thrilling triumph in the fourth set, 25-23, but could not close the door in the fifth as Salem responded with a 15-6 victory to take the match. 
 
Three Tornados had double-digit kills offensively, led by Malahna Hoyle's 13 while Jaxson Tumicki posted 12 and Caroline Moon added 10. Izzy Boulay (22 assists) and Madison Warren (20 assists) ran the offense, while four Tornados contributed double-digit dig efforts on the defensive side. Abigail Kelly recorded a career best 23 digs, followed by Kylie Katcher (18), Moon (15) and Boulay (11). The efforts marked Moon's 10th double-double of 2025, and Boulay's sixth. Emm Fontana served up six service aces and recorded five total blocks. 
 
The Spirits were paced by Aspen Bradley's 21 kills. Three Salem players - Leah Rymer (20), Jolina Bun (17), and Grace Roger (14) distributed double-digit assists, while Madison Bozarth led the defense with 22 digs. 
 
The highly-contested match featured a grand total of 24 tied scores and 14 total lead changes, including very competitive first and fourth frames. 
 
Brevard caps off the regular season on Saturday at 12 p.m. in Raleigh, N.C. against Meredith. 
 
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-BC-