Box Score BOX SCORE

SALT LAKE CITY – The Westminster College women's volleyball team gave No. 8 Lewis-Clark State everything they could handle before dropping a 3-1 decision on Thursday night in the Behnken Field House.

The final match of the regular season saw Westminster drop a 22-25, 23-25, 25-23, 18-25 match and they fall to 11-14 overall and finish at 8-6 in the Frontier Conference.  Lewis-Clark State clinched the regular season title with tonight's win as they improve to 19-3 and 13-1.

Westminster posted 49 kills on the night with a .161 hitting efficiency  They were aggressive most of the night and the 49 kills are the second-most the team has recorded in a four-set match this season.  The Griffins also racked up four service aces and 59 digs.  They had seven blocks on defense and forced LCSC into 22 hitting errors.

Ashley Marchant was the only Griffin to record double figures in kills with 13.  Stephanie Jones Morin and Kenzie Mitchell add nine kills apiece.  Katie Vance hit .400 with six kills and Jenna Harp hit .556 and also had six kills.  It was the final home match in the career of Harp along with Becky Burke and Katy Waldie.

The opening set was tightly contested throughout with seven ties and five lead changes.  LCSC finished with 16 kills in the set and hit .294.  Westminster managed just 11 kills and a .156 hitting efficiency.  The griffins kept it tight thanks to three service aces and two blocks.

Westminster jumped out to a quick 6-2 in the second stanza.  The Griffins would play ahead in much of the set before the visitors from Idaho would take the lead at 23-22 and never look back.  The Griffins hit .289 in the set with 15 kills and 15 digs.  The Warriors finished set two with 16 kills and hitting .282.

The third set was the craziest of the season for the Griffins.  Westminster dominated the early portion and built a 15-4 lead at one point.  LCSC would fight back behind an 8-0 run during the middle of the set to level the score at 18-18.  The Griffins wouldn't give up the lead and eventually held on for the 25-23 victory.  Both team struggled in the set with Westminster hitting just .083 with 13 kills while LCSC had 11 kills and hit .047.

LCSC started fast in the fourth set and quickly built a 13-6 advantage.  Westminster would chip away throughout the set, but they couldn't get closer than 21-17.  The Warriors hit a blistering .321 in the final frame behind 13 kills.  The Griffins would collect 10 kills in the set with a .129 hitting efficiency.

Westminster is locked into the No. 4 seed for next week's Frontier Conference Tournament.  They will face either Great Falls or Montana State-Northern in the opening round on Friday, Nov. 11.  The tournament will be played in the Carroll PE Center in Helena, Mont.