SALT LAKE CITY – The Westminster women's volleyball team completes the first half of the Frontier Conference season this week with a road trip. Westminster visits Lewiston, Idaho on Thursday for an 8 p.m. MT match at Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) at the Lewiston Activity Center. The Griffins will then travel to Butte, Mont. to plat Montana Tech on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Sampson Court.
Thursday's match will be streamed live on the Lewis-Clark State Livestream channel which is available online and the Livestream app on mobile devices and Roku players. Saturday's match will be shown on the Montana Tech web site with a pay-per-view price of $7. Both matches will also have live stats available. Links for all of the live features can be found at the Westminster web site.
Griffin NotebookWestminster returns to the road at 8-10 overall this season and 2-3 in the Frontier Conference. They are coming off a split of two home matches last week that saw a 3-0 sweep of Montana State-Northern before falling in four sets to Great Falls (Mont.). The Griffins are 0-3 in road matches this season and 0-2 in conference road matches.
The Griffins are averaging 11.8 kills per set on the year and they place fourth in the conference with 781 total kills. As a team, Westminster is hitting .178 to place sixth in the league. They average 10.9 assists per set while recording 1.45 service aces per set which places them third in the Frontier.
Defensively, Westminster holds the opposition to .188 hitting and allows 12.1 kills per set. The Griffins are fourth in the conference by averaging 15.14 digs per set and they are fifth in the league at 1.86 blocks per set. Westminster opponents are recording 1.4 aces per set on the season.
Alexis Aalona leads the team and is third in the Frontier with 204 kills and she is hitting .192. The senior average 3.09 kills per set and she also records 2.89 digs, 0.62 blocks, and 0.26 aces per set.
Jessica Chellsen has added 145 kills while hitting .226 with
Amara Culpepper going for 130 kills and a team-high .239 hitting.
Taylor Gustafson leads all Griffins with 536 assists which is third in the Frontier Conference.
Jaden Green has a team-best 20 aces while
Alyse Horton leads the Griffins with 199 digs. Culpepper has recorded 49 blocks to rank eighth in the league.
About Lewis-Clark StateLewis-Clark State enters the week at 8-7 overall and 3-2 in the Frontier Conference. The Warriors dropped consecutive road games at Rocky Mountain (Mont.) and Carroll (Mont.) last week. They are 21st in the NAIA by averaging 12.95 kills per set and they hit .198 as a team. Treneisha Doyle leads the team with 170 kills and she is hitting .198. Desiree Nielson is tops with 53 blocks and Russia Robinson leads the team with 275 digs and 21 aces.
About Montana TechMontana Tech begins the week at 7-10 overall and 2-3 in the league. The Orediggers have dropped three straight matches after starting the conference slate at 2-0. Tech ranks 26th in the NAIA by hitting .222 and they average 11.79 kills per set. Bailie Cortner has recorded a team-leading 161 kills on the year with Sydney Norris adding 139. Kimmy Kavran the two-time Frontier Libero of the Year, is 26th in the NAIA by averaging 5.33 digs per set with 325 total digs this season.
Aalona Racking up KillsWith 204 kills in this season,
Alexis Aalona moved has from fifth to third in all-time kills in Westminster history while also becoming just the third Griffin to reach 900 kills in a career. Aalona has recorded 954 kills for her career as she looks to become the second player in school history to 1,000 in their career. At the team's current pace, Aalona needs to average 1.25 kills per set to hit the 1,000 plateau.
| Westminster Career Kills Leaders |
|---|
| 1. | 1,497 | Angie Johnson | 2005-07 |
| 2. | 989 | Alison Culp | 2006-08 |
| 3. | 954 | Alexis Aalona | 2011-14 |
Also Climbing the Digs ChartAalona has also moved into sixth-place in school history with 850 career digs. She is on pace to become the first player in school history to reach 900 kills and 900 digs in their career. Aalona is averaging 2.89 digs per set this season and needs to average 1.36 digs per set the rest of the year to reach the 900-900 club.
Defensive Minded HortonAlyse Horton has become one of the top defensive players on the team. The junior leads the team with 199 digs and she currently ranks eighth in the conference with an average of 3.06 digs per set. She has reached double figures in digs 11 times and has also recorded three double-doubles.
Big Spot for ChellsenJunior
Jessica Chellsen has been a bright spot on the Westminster attack this season. The junior is currently second on the team with 140 kills and she is hitting .226. She averages 2.23 kills per set and has also recorded 26 blocks. Chellsen has been in double figures in the kills department in six matches, including a career-high 16 in the win over Evergreen (Wash.) on Aug. 22.
Running the ShowFreshman
Taylor Gustafson has been at the center of the Griffin offense all season from her setter position. Gustafson is currently third in the conference with 536 assists and she has set the Griffin attack to an average of 11.83 kills per set. She already ranks 11th in program history for assists in a season and she is on pace to become the fourth freshman setter in school history to record 800 assists during their first season.
Blocking the OppositionFreshman
Amara Culpepper has been the Griffins best blocker so far this season. She currently ranks eighth in the Frontier Conference with 49 total blocks and her average of 0.74 blocks per set is tied for ninth in the league. Culpepper has led the team in blocks during nine matches this season and she has at least five blocks in a match five times. She also leads the team by hitting .239 while recording 130 kills.
Volleyball BlogThis season, Aalona and Horton will be writing a blog that chronicles the team's adventures throughout the 2014 campaign. A new post will be available each week with many including pictures from outside of the gym that are taken by members of the team. The blog can be found on the volleyball page of WestminsterGriffins.com.
Looking AheadWestminster will host an alumni match in the Behnken Field House on Friday, Oct. 10 at 7 p.m. MT. They return to league play on Oct. 16 against top-ranked Rocky Mountain at 7 p.m. and then face Carroll on Oct. 18 at 2 p.m. with both matches being played in the Behnken Field House.
