SALT LAKE CITY – The Westminster women's volleyball team begins the second half of the conference schedule with a pair of homes games in the Behnken Field House this week. On Thursday, Westminster welcomes No. 1 Rocky Mountain (Mont.) to town for a 7 p.m. MT start. Carroll (Mont.) makes the trip for a Saturday contest that begins at 2 p.m.
 
Both matches will be shown live on Griffins TV and Comcast 6 in northern Utah with Lance Barton (play-by-play) and Brittani Barton (analyst). Griffins TV is available online or through the Livestream app on your mobile device or Roku player. Live stats will also be available for the matches.
 
Griffin Notebook
Westminster returns to action at 9-11 overall and 3-4 in the conference. They picked up a 3-2 win at Montana Tech in their last outing on Oct. 4 before taking last week off. The Griffins have gone 2-1 at home this season and they dropped both matches at Rocky Mountains and Carroll earlier this season.
 
The Griffins begin the week averaging 11.92 kills per set while hitting .179 as a team. That hitting percentage would rank as the fourth-highest percentage for a season in team history. They dish out 11 assists per set while also ranking second in the conference with an average of 1.49 service aces per frame.
 
Westminster is allowing the opposition to hit .192 on the year while giving up 12.2 kills per set. The Griffins record 15.23 digs per set while also notching 1.79 blocks. The opposition is also averaging 1.4 aces per set.
 
Alexis Aalona leads the team and is second in the Frontier with 241 kills and she is hitting .209. The senior average 3.21 kills per set and she also records 2.85 digs, 0.59 blocks, and 0.23 aces per set. Jessica Chellsen has added 169 kills while hitting .209 with Amara Culpepper going for 146 kills and a team-high .223 hitting.
 
Taylor Gustafson leads all Griffins with 617 assists which is third in the Frontier Conference. Jaden Green has a team-best 23 aces while Culpepper has recorded 53 blocks to rank eighth in the league.
 
About Rocky Mountain
No. 1 Rocky Mountain comes to town at 18-2 overall and a perfect 7-0 in the conference. They are riding a 17-match winning streak and are the first team from the Frontier Conference to receive the No. 1 national ranking. Rocky leads the nation with an average of 3.12 blocks per set and they average 12.53 kills per set by hitting .238. Yang Yang is fifth in the NAIA in kills per set at 4.82 and she leads the country by posting 1.53 blocks per set.
 
About Carroll
Carroll begins the week at 13-8 overall and 5-2 in the conference. The Saints fell to Rocky Mountain in their last outing on Oct. 3, snapping a three-match winning streak. They currently rank fourth in the nation by recording 2.63 blocks per set and they sit 27th by hitting .217. Crystal Schmidt leads the team with 183 kills while Paige Montgomery is 12th in the NAIA by averaging 1.22 blocks per set.
 
Closing in on 1,000
Alexis Aalona will enter this week's action just nine kills shy of becoming the second player in school history to reach 1,000 kills in their career. With 241 kills this season, Aalona has moved into second-place all-time in career kills and ranks 13th for kills in a season. The senior currently ranks second in the Frontier in both total kills and kills per set at 3.21. Aalona has been in double figures in kills in five straight matches, including a career-high 25 at Montana Tech on Oct. 4.
 
Also Climbing the Digs Chart
Aalona has also moved into fifth-place in school history with 873 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 leads the team with 214 digs on the year with an average of 2.85 digs per set.
 
Leaving Her Mark
Alyse Horton is also making her way up the career charts at Westminster as she has moved into the top 12 in six career statistical categories. The junior is already 10th all-time in kills with 400 while placing ninth by averaging 1.52 kills per set. Her 211 digs this season has moved her to 12th in school history with 462 career digs and she is also 12th with 471.5 career points.
 
Big Spot for Chellsen
Junior Jessica Chellsen has been a bright spot on the Westminster attack this season. The junior is currently second on the team with 169 kills and she is hitting .217. She averages 2.28 kills per set and has also recorded 28 blocks. Chellsen has been in double figures in the kills department in nine matches, including a career-high 16 in the win over Evergreen (Wash.) on Aug. 22.
 
Running the Show
Freshman 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 617 assists and she has set the Griffin attack to an average of 11.92 kills per set. She currently ranks 10th 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 Opposition
Freshman Amara Culpepper has been the Griffins best blocker so far this season. She currently ranks eighth in the Frontier Conference with 53 total blocks and her average of 0.71 blocks per set is 11th in the league. Culpepper has led the team in blocks during 10 matches this season and she has at least five blocks in a match three times. She also leads the team by hitting .223 while recording 146 kills.
 
Volleyball Blog
This 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 Ahead
Westminster will begin a three-match road swing by traveling to Dillon, Mont. for a match at Montana Western on Oct. 24. The match will begin at 7 p.m. MT from Straugh Gymnasium.