SALT LAKE CITY – The Westminster women's volleyball team will begin a three-match road swing with a trip to Dillon, Mont. for a Friday night match against Montana Western. The match will be played in Straugh Gymnasium and begin at 7 p.m. MT.
Montana Western will stream the match on the web and there will also be live stats available. Links for the live features are available at WestminsterGriffins.com.
Griffin NotebookWestminster enters this week's lone match at 10-12 overall this season and they are currently tied with Montana Tech for fifth in the Frontier Conference with a 4-5 record. The Griffins are coming off a 1-1 week where they lost to No. 1 Rocky Mountain (Mont.) and then swept Carroll (Mont.), both at home.
The Griffins are averaging 12.14 kills per set on the season while they are hitting .179 as a team. Over their past three matches, the Griffins are recording 14 kills per set and hitting .191. They had 89 kills during the two matches last week and finished the Carroll match hitting .306. Westminster is also recording 1.47 service aces per set to rank second in the conference.
Westminster opponents are averaging 12.15 kills per set with a hitting percentage at .187. The Griffins get 15.8 digs per set and they set a three-set record with 91 in the loss to Rocky Mountain. Westminster averages 1.8 blocks per set on the year and they give up 1.3 aces per set to the opposition.
Alexis Aalona leads the team and is second in the Frontier with 268 kills and she is hitting .207. The senior average 3.31 kills per set and she also records 2.99 digs, 0.57 blocks, and 0.21 aces per set.
Jessica Chellsen has added 184 kills while hitting .209 with
Amara Culpepper going for 165 kills and a team-high .234 hitting.
Taylor Gustafson leads all Griffins with 686 assists which is third in the Frontier Conference.
Jaden Green has a team-best 25 aces while Culpepper has recorded 56 blocks to rank ninth in the league.
About Montana WesternMontana Western will carry a 9-12 overall record into Friday's match. They are 1-8 in the Frontier after defeating Carroll in five sets on Oct. 15. They are 14th in the country by averaging 18.13 digs per set while placing 50th in assists per set with an average of 11.29. Emily Erickson leads the Bulldogs with 232 kills and is hitting .159 on the year. Kendra Mendicino has 407 digs and averages 5.3 digs per set.
Welcome to the ClubWith 12 kills in the match against Rocky Mountain on Oct. 16,
Alexis Aalona became the second player in school history to reach 1,000 kills for their career. The senior enters this week with 1,018 career kills and she ranks third in school history with an average of 2.69 kills per set. She has 268 kills on the year which ranks 11th for a single season in school history and second in the Frontier Conference.
| Westminster Career Kills Leaders |
|---|
| 1. | 1,497 | Angie Johnson | 2005-07 |
| 2. | 1,018 | Alexis Aalona | 2011-14 |
Also Climbing the Digs ChartAalona has also moved into fifth-place in school history with 901 career digs. She is the first player in school history with 900 kills and 900 digs and she still has an outside shot at becoming the fourth player to reach 1,000 career digs. Aalona currently leads the team with 242 digs and she would need to average 4.48 digs per set over the remaining six scheduled matches to reach 1,000.
Big Year for ChellsenJunior
Jessica Chellsen has been a bright spot on the Westminster attack this season. The junior is currently second on the team with 184 kills and she is hitting .209. She averages 2.30 kills per set and has also recorded 31 blocks. Chellsen has been in double figures in the kills department in eight matches, including a career-high 16 in the win over Evergreen (Wash.) on Aug. 22.
Leaving her MarkAlyse 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 404 while placing ninth by averaging 1.51 kills per set. Her 217 digs this season has moved her to 12th in school history with 468 career digs and she is also tied for 11th with 475.5 career points.
Running the ShowFreshman
Taylor Gustafson has been at the center of the Griffin offense all season from her setter position. Gustafson is currently tied for second in the conference with 686 assists and she has set the Griffin attack to an average of 12.1 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 OppositionFreshman
Amara Culpepper has been the Griffins best blocker so far this season. She currently ranks ninth in the Frontier Conference with 56 total blocks and her average of 0.69 blocks per set is 13th 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 .234 while recording 165 kills.
Coming on StrongMegan Gallegos has started to become a factor from her libero position. The freshman has recorded 225 digs on the season and her 3.08 digs per set average is good for 10th in the conference. After recording at least 10 digs in a match one time during the first 13 matches of the year, Gallegos has nine straight matches in double figures. She has gone for 20-plus digs during five of those outings, including a career-high 27 against Rocky Mountain on Oct. 16.
| Westminster Digs by a Freshman |
|---|
| 1. | 441 | Tahnie Blymiller | 2006 |
| 2. | 392 | Kyndall Kordakis | 2010 |
| 3. | 282 | Leigha Dangerfield | 2007 |
| 4. | 255 | Celestial Alofipo | 2005 |
| 5. | 243 | Alison Culp | 2006 |
| 6. | 234 | Megan Evans | 2009 |
| 7. | 225 | Megan Gallegos | 2014 |
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 return to the road next week for the final regular season road trip of the year. They visit Montana State-Northern on Oct. 31 before a Nov. 1 match at Great Falls (Mont.).
