Leah Rymer and Coach Barry Rymer.
Leah and Anna Rymer helped get Salem’s beach volleyball program started.
By Mike London
Salisbury Post
WINSTON-SALEM — It was Friday morning, but Salem College sophomore Leah Rymer already was thinking about the volleyball matches that would be played on Saturday.
“Bus trip at 7,” said Rymer, who is used to rising early. “Two matches in Rocky Mount.”
There’s not much chance Rymer will ever miss a bus. Her father, Barry, coaches the Salem Spirits, and they won’t be leaving without their setter.
The younger Rymer reached another milestone in Rocky Mount on Saturday, wins by Salem in a tri-match format against North Carolina Wesleyan and Roanoke. Leah had 30 assists in a sweep of N.C. Wesleyan, surpassing 2,000 for her career. She got started on her next thousand with 43 in a 3-1 win against Roanoke. He career high for a match is 47 assists.
With her dad being a volleyball lifer and with a sister (Anna) who was three years older and totally dedicated to the sport, Leah has been setting volleyballs for hitters since she was 8 years old at the South Rowan Y. Then she was a setter at China Grove Middle School and then she had the same job in club ball. Then she set for South Rowan coach Jenna Horne in high school in a two-setter system that also gave her a chance to her develop other skills.
“I always enjoyed the setting role,” Rymer said. “The setter has a chance to make everyone else on the team look good.”
The setter is the equivalent of a football quarterback, the key decision-maker on the floor, so it’s a taxing job mentally and physically. Rymer also shoulders quite a bit of offensive and defensive responsibility for Salem beyond setting. Her stat line for the season includes 926 assists, 255 digs, 100 kills and 21 aces.
Leah is 5-foot-9 and may have been able to play at a higher level, but there never was any doubt about her going to school at Salem. It was a chance to play there in the 2024 season with her sister and also a chance to form a duo for beach volleyball with Anna in the school’s inaugural season. Leah plans to play beach volleyball again this spring, and Salem will be undertaking a more ambitious schedule.
Obviously going to Salem also meant a chance for Leah to play for her father, who is an expert at handling the combined role of biggest fan and toughest critic.
“He’s the one that keeps up with all the stats,” Leah said. “I wouldn’t have had any idea about the 2,000 assists.”
Leah has no regrets about choosing Salem. The school has been an ideal fit because headlines and glory are pretty far down the list of priorities for her. Salem wins a lot. That matters to her.
And the classroom is going well.
“It’s definitely different this year without Anna to count on, but I’ve still got a lot of wonderful teammates,” Leah said. “I do like the school. Salem is a very tight-knit community. It’s small, 500 students, but that means you know everyone and you get to really know your teachers. And going to a small school has given me a chance to get involved in activities beyond the volleyball court.”
Leah landed like a fiery meteor at Salem last season, making a massive impact right away. The Rymer trio — Barry, Anna and Leah — enjoyed a 30-6 season that was historic for the program.
Leah had played in high school against terrific players from West Rowan, Carson, East Rowan and Lake Norman Charter, so the jump to college volleyball wasn’t daunting for her at all. She was the USA South Freshman of the Year in five different weeks. She racked up 1,140 assists and 371 digs.
“The only real adjustment from high school was the pace,” Leah said. “College volleyball is a faster game.”
It’s not easy to replace an Anna Rymer, who provided 346 kills and 213 digs last season, but Salem has been almost as good this year and has a 24-6 record.
Leah would have made it to 2,000 career digs a match earlier than she did, but she hurt an ankle in a match with Pfeiffer a few weeks ago. She was in a boot for a couple of days. She missed the first match of her college career, but she didn’t mind resting for a match against Mary Baldwin that Salem knew it would win easily.
What’s next for Rymer, who currently has 2,066 assists?
Well, there’s 3,000 assists, and then there’s 4,000 assists. She’ll also surpass 1,000 digs at some point.
A recent visit with one of her classes to the High Point Furniture Market confirmed her career choice. She’s a design major and she also would like to leave school with a business degree.
But for now there still are a lot of volleyballs to set, a lot of matches she can help her father win and a lot of teammates that she can make look good.
There’s another doubleheader this Saturday, but this time Leah can sleep in. William Peace and Averett are coming to Salem to wrap up the regular season.
