SALT LAKE CITY – The Westminster College women's volleyball team opened the 2103 season by picking up two wins in two matches at the Westminster Tournament of Champions on Friday night in the Behnken Field House.

Westminster started the season by coming back from two sets down to defeat Hope International (Calif.) 20-25, 19-25, 25-20, 25-15, 15-8 in the opener. The Griffins then finished the evening with a 25-13, 25-22, 25-19 sweep of Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) to sit atop the tournament standings after the first day of play.

Against Hope International (0-2), Alexis Aalona led the way with 18 kills while also picking up 16 digs. She hit .400 for the match and carried the team to a .211 percentage. The Griffins had a 65-42 edge in total kills and they used 11.5 blocks to limit the Royals to just .084 hitting.

Emily Atkinson recorded 39 assists and 13 digs and Kyndall Kordakis picked up 19 digs. Westminster had eight players record at least five kills in the match, including a career-high seven apiece from Mayra Ramirez and Jessica Chellsen. Ramirez also had five blocks in her first match with the Griffins.

In the 3-0 sweep of Olivet Nazarene (0-2), Westminster hit .264 with five players posting at least five kills. Aalona again led the way with eight while hitting .261. Chellsen finished with six kills and six digs. Ramirez, Kenzie Mitchell and Jovana Sisovic each totaled five kills. Atkinson posted 18 assists with Cassandra Fenton adding 13. Kordakis led all players with 14 digs.

Atkinson finished the two matches with 57 assists and sits just 17 away from becoming the school's all-time leader in that category.

Dixie State (Utah) also claimed two wins on the first day, defeating Hope International and Cornerstone (Mich.) in four sets each. Cornerstone sits in third after the opening day behind a four-set win over Olivet Nazarene.  HIU and ONU are tied for fourth after dropping both matches each team played on Friday.

Day two of the tournament begins at 10 a.m. in the Behnken Field House with Hope International facing Cornerstone. The Griffins two matches start at 2 p.m. versus Cornerstone and then they close out the event against Dixie State (Utah) at 6 p.m.