Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 ASHLAND, Ore. – It was another good day for the Westminster College women's volleyball team at the Paul Elliott Invitational on Saturday.  Westminster started the day with a 5-set win over the host, Southern Oregon, before dropping an incredibly close 4-set match against Viterbo (Wisc.).

By going 1-1 on the day, Westminster is now 3-1 on the season. In defeating SOU in the opener, the Griffins started 3-0 for the first time since 2007.

After dropping the first set against SOU, the Griffins responded to take a 22-25, 25-23, 25-17, 23-25, 15-10 win over the team picked to finish second in the tough Cascade Collegiate Conference. Westminster used an efficient offensive attack to pick up 57 kills while hitting .197. The team hit .229 or better in all of the sets except the fourth.

The Griffins also kept up the strong play on the service line where they finished with 11 service aces. That is the most the team has recorded since Sept. 4 of last season. The defense limited SOU to just .149 hitting on 53 kills. The Griffins had five blocks and 70 digs.

Ashley Marchant finished with 15 kills and 15 digs for her first double-double of the year. Marchant posted a .343 hitting efficiency behind 35 attempts. Freshman Alyse Horton recorded her first double digit kill match as she finished with 10 kills while hitting .292.  Katie Vance, Stephanie Jones Morin and Kenzie Mitchell recorded nine kills apiece. Emily Atkinson had 45 assists and 15 digs to match the 15 digs from libero Kyndall Kordakis.

The night cap was an intense match that was taken by Viterbo 25-22, 35-33, 19-25, 25-22. The match featured 32 ties and 17 lead changes. The epic second set was the highest scoring set in school history since they started playing to 25. It featured 13 ties and seven lead changes and Viterbo fought off seven set points to earn the win.

Westminster finished with 59 kills and a .181 hitting efficiency in the match. They picked up another eight service aces and 75 digs. The Griffins posted five blocks and limited Viterbo to .212 hitting.

Marchant was stellar in the match where she posted a career high 20 kills on 46 swings. She hit .326 with three aces and recorded a second straight double-double with her 10 digs.  Horton came up with nine kills and four digs while hitting .250. Vance totaled eight kills and Alexis Aalona registered eight kills and three blocks. Kordakis finished with 31 digs, falling two shy of her career best.

Westminster now returns home to play host to the Tournament of Champions on Aug. 24-25. They tournament begins with the Griffins facing the College of St. Mary (Neb.) at 10 a.m. on Friday. Every match of the event will be played in the Behnken Field House on the Westminster campus.