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SALT LAKE CITY – The Westminster College women's volleyball team plays a pair of Frontier Conference this week. They begin the week with a trip to Helena, Mont. to face Carroll (Mont.) on Thursday at 7 p.m. The Griffins then return home for a Saturday match against Montana Tech at 2 p.m. in the Behnken Field House.

Thursday's match at Carroll will be streamed live and feature live stats. Saturday's game will be streamed on Griffins TV and also be carried on Comcast 6 in northern Utah. The game will also have live stats available. Links for all of the live features can be found in the calendar section of WestminsterGriffins.com.

GRIFFIN NOTEBOOK
Westminster begins a full week of conference games at 7-7 overall this season and 1-0 in league matches. They opened the Frontier season with a four-set win at Montana Western last Friday night. The Griffins are 3-1 at home in 2013 and they have gone 7-2 against non-ranked opponents. Westminster is 1-2 in road matches this season with the lone win coming last Friday.

The Griffins rank fourth in the Frontier Conference by hitting 1.74 during the season. They are averaging 11.51 kills per set while also picking up 10.55 assists per frame. Westminster has notched 71 service aces to rank sixth in the league and they are averaging 1.27 aces per set.

Westminster limits the opposition to .163 hitting and an average of 12 kills per set. The Griffins lead the Frontier in blocks with 122 and they are 26th in the NAIA at 2.18 blocks per set. They also collect 14.82 digs per set for a total of 830 for the season.

AGAINST THE OPPOSITION
Carroll holds a 16-8 lead in the all-time series with the Griffins. The Saints have won two straight matches and hold a 7-4 advantage in SLC. Westminster took a five-set decision during last year's meeting in the Behnken Field House to snap a seven-match losing streak in the series.

Westminster is 18-7 against Montana Tech all-time and has won four straight matches. The Griffins are 9-1 all-time at home against the Orediggers. Montana Tech has never won in the Behnken Field House and their last road win in the series came in 2003.

AALONA ON THE ATTACK
Outside hitter Alexis Aalona is averaging 2.79 kills per set to rank fifth in the Frontier Conference. She has been the team leader in kills in 10 matches and seven times reached double figures in kills. Aalona is hitting .158 on the year while reaching at least 15 kills on three occasions.

Aalona also leads the team with six double-doubles and is second on the team with 143 digs. She has been in double figures in digs in eight matches. The junior is third on the team with 34 blocks and is averaging 0.61 blocks per set.

ALL ABOUT ATKINSON
Senior All-American candidate Emily Atkinson has recorded 411 assists so far this season and she is second in the Frontier with an average of 7.34 assists per set. In the match against Cornerstone (Mich.), Atkinson became the Westminster career leader in assists as she notched her 2,810th career assist. She enters this weekend with 3,147 career helpers.

Atkinson ranks third on the team with 117 digs and she has posted four double-doubles. She has been in double figures in digs during four matches, including a season-high 15 at Montana Western last Friday.

DIGGING WITH KORDAKIS
Senor libero Kyndall Kordakis has notched 272 digs on the season and is averaging 4.86 per set to rank fourth in the Frontier. She has been the team leader in digs in all 14 matches the team has played and eight times she has reached 20 digs.

Kordakis now has 1,572 digs in her Westminster career and she ranks second in school history on that category. Bree Riet holds the all-time lead with 1,712 digs which means Kordakis would need to average 8.13 digs per match the rest of the season to become the new leader. At her current pace, Kordakis will break the record against Rocky Mountain on Oct. 11.

REJECTED BY RAMIREZ
Junior Mayra Ramirez has recorded 59 blocks this season and she is 14th in the NAIA with that total. She is averaging 1.07 blocks per set to place 31st in the country while leading the team in blocks during 10 matches. Ramirez has totaled at least five blocks in six of the matches played this season.

Ramirez has also been efficient on the offensive end. She leads the squad with a .276 hitting efficiency while averaging 1.85 kills per set. Ramirez was named to the Julie Martin Memorial Classic All-Tournament Team after averaging 1.86 kills and 0.86 blocks per set during the four matches. She hit .231 during the weekend and also picked up six digs.

NORMAN NEARING 150
Head Coach Kim Norman is in her 10th season as the head coach of the women's volleyball team at Westminster in 2013. During that time, Norman has guided the Griffins to a 142-135 overall record and a .513 winning percentage. The team has four winning seasons and has gone 76-52 (.594) in Frontier Conference play while winning regular season titles in 2005 and 2006.

FRONTIER PRESEASON COACHES' POLL
The Griffins have been picked to finish fifth in the Frontier Conference this season according to a poll of the league's coaches. Carroll (Mont.) was selected as the favorite to win the 2013 title after receiving five first-place votes and 60 points. Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) was picked second with 57 points and three first-place votes. Rocky Mountain (Mont.) took one first-place vote to earn 48 points to be selected third with Montana State-Northern coming in fourth with 41 points. Great Falls (Mont.), Montana Tech and Montana Western were selected sixth, seventh and eight respectively. Dickinson State (N.D.) was selected ninth.

FOLLOWING THE GRIFFINS
To keep up with all of the latest news and information about the Westminster women's volleyball team, fans are encouraged to "Like" the Griffins on Facebook and follow them on Twitter. And as always, make sure to visit WestminsterGriffins.com for all things Griffins during the 2013 season.

LOOKING AHEAD
Westminster returns to Montana for games at Great Falls (Mont.) on Sept. 27 and Montana State-Northern on Sept. 28.