Complete Release | PDF

SALT LAKE CITY – The Westminster College women's volleyball team will play two non-conference matches in the Behnken Field House this week.  They welcome Colorado Mesa to town for a 7 p.m. match on Tuesday.  No. 7 College of Idaho will face the Griffins on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in a rematch of last Saturday's meeting in Idaho.

Griffin Notebook
Westminster enters this week's action at 7-9 overall after dropping two road matches last week.  They fell in five sets to No. 14 Lewis-Clark State last Friday before losing to the College of Idaho in three sets on Saturday.  The Griffins are 4-3 in the Frontier Conference and are currently fourth in the standings.

Westminster averages 11.4 kills per set with a .172 hitting efficiency.  They record 1.6 service aces per set while also racking up 15.6 digs and 1.3 blocks.  The opposition is hitting .204 this season and average 12.6 kills per set.

Ashley Marchant leads the team with 159 kills and an average of 2.61 per set.  Marchant is hitting .170 and ranks second on the team in digs with 161.  Kenzie Mitchell is hitting a team-high .248 and ranks second with 133 kills and 33 blocks.

Emily Atkinson has recoded 554 assists and her average of 9.08 assists per set ranks 47th in the NAIA.  She has also picked up 146 digs and recorded seven double-doubles.  Katie Vance leads the team with 23 service aces and 37 blocks.  Kyndall Kordakis has popped up a team-best 264 digs.

Game Coverage
Both matches this week will be streamlined live on Griffins TV.  The live stream goes live approximately 10 minutes prior to the first serve.  Griffins TV is available at WestminsterGriffins.com or Livestream.com/griffins.  Live Stats will also be available for both matches this week.  Links to the live stats is available at WestminsterGriffins.com and you can also access the feed on your mobile device.

Promotions
Tuesday's match is Camper Reunion Night with anyone wearing a WC camp T-shirt receiving free admission.  There will also be an autograph session with the team following the match.  Wednesday is Utah Food bank Night and anyone that brings 2 cans of food will receive 2-for-1 admission.

Tuesday's Opponent: Colorado Mesa
Colorado Mesa makes the trip to Salt Lake City for the first time.  The Mavericks, previously known as Mesa State, comes to town at 5-11 overall.  They have dropped two straight matches and seven of their previous nine.  The team averages 11.7 kills per set with a .152 hitting efficiency.  Maverick opponents are hitting .176 and post 11.0 kills per set.

Kelly Regimbal leads the team with 189 kills and is hitting .178.  She has also totaled 13 service aces, 81 digs and 29 blocks.  Rebecca Sellers has 137 kills and 109 digs while Antoinette McCormick is hitting a team-best .241 with 131 kills.  Megan Rush leads the team with 283 digs.

Wednesday's Opponent: No. 7 College of Idaho
College of Idaho enters the week at 13-1 overall and with a No. 7 national ranking.  The Yotes have won 10 straight matches including a 3-0 sweep of the Griffins last Saturday.  They average 14.2 kills per set and are hitting .274 to lead the Cascade Collegiate Conference in both categories.  They also lead the nation with an average of 13.5 assist per set.

Kylee Nawahine leads the Yotes with 166 kills and ranks 41st national with a .330 hitting efficiency.  Kelsey Soos averages 11.04 assists per set to rank seventh in the nation while Whitney Brigham is seventh in digs per set at 6.02.

Series Results
Colorado Mesa holds a 2-0 lead in the all-time series between the two schools.  They last met on Oct. 7, 2010 with the Mavericks picking up a 3-0 win in Grand Junction, Colo. 

After the loss on Saturday, Westminster is now 2-7 against the College of Idaho since 2004.  The Griffins last defeated the Yotes on Aug. 27, 2010 at the Tournament of Champions. According to the C of I record book, Westminster is just 2-17 all-time in the series.

Setting the Tone
Sophomore setter Atkinson surpassed the 1,000 career assist total early this season. Atkinson now has 1,377 assists in her career and is just the third player in school history to topple the 1,000 assist plateau.  She is currently on pace for 900 assists this season and that would give her 1,723 career helpers to rank second in school history.

Atkinson currently averages 9.08 assists per set to rank second in the league and 47th nationally.  Her 554 total assists place her second in the conference.

On the Attack
Junior outside hitter Ashley Marchant is leading the team with 159 kills and has posted a new career high in that category.  Her total kills rank 8th in the conference while her 2.6 kills per set average ranks seventh in the league.  She is hitting .170 while also adding a career high 161 digs.

Marchant has reached double figures in kills a team-best eight times this season and matched a career high with 18 kills against Azusa Pacific on Sept. 3.  She has also posted 10 matches with double-digit digs and has eight double-doubles.

Checking in with Kordakis
Sophomore libero Kyndall Kordakis is once again having a stellar year in the Westminster back row.  Kordakis has popped up 264 digs this season and averages 4.33 digs per set.  She is third in the league with that average and her 264 total digs rank sixth in the Frontier.

At her current rate, Kordakis will finish they year with 429 total digs.  That total would rank fifth for a season in school history and would surpass her total of 392 from last season.  If she reaches the 429 that she is on pace for, her career total would hit 821 and rank fifth in school history for a career.

Climbing the Charts
Juniors Marchant and Stephanie Jones Morin continue to climb the Westminster career kill leader charts.  Jones Morin has racked up 385 career kills through last weekend and ranks fifth in school history in that category.   She also ranks sixth with 1,129 total attempts and her .211 career hitting efficiency is also sixth.

Marchant has recorded 381 kills in her career and sits seventh in school history, just four shy of moving into fifth.  She ranks fifth in school history with an average of 2.14 kills per set and with 1,179 attempts.  Marchant also averages 1.81 digs per set to rank ninth in school history.

Massey Ratings
Westminster dropped seven spots to No. 51 in the latest edition of the Massey Ratings that were released on Sunday.  The Griffins have a rating of 0.493 and have played the second-toughest schedule according to the rankings.  They are rated fifth among the eight teams in the Frontier Conference.

The Massey Ratings are compiled each week with new ranking being released on Sundays.  Kenneth Massey is the creator of the rating formula and all ratings can be found on his web site at www.masseyratings.com.

Tough Slate
Westminster has once again compiled one of the toughest schedules in the country.  The Griffins will face eight teams that are ranked in the Tachikara-NAIA Volleyball Coaches' Top 25 Preseason Poll.  The schedule features seven teams that qualified for the 2010 NAIA National Championships along with four matches against teams from the Golden State Athletic Conference. The non-conference slate also features a home-and-home with the College of Idaho and a home match with NCAA DII foe Mesa State.

Watch the Griffins Online
Westminster is pleased to announce that all nine Griffin home volleyball matches will be available to watch live on Griffins TV.  Westminster, along with the Victory Sports Network, have created a channel on Livestream to become the new online streaming home of the Westminster Griffins.  Fans can access the channel at WestminsterGriffins.com or at Livestream.com/griffins.