SALT LAKE CITY – The Westminster women's volleyball team moves into Frontier Conference action this weekend with a pair of matches in Big Sky Country. The first match of the trip comes on Thursday at 7 p.m. MT when the Griffins visit No. 1 Rocky Mountain (Mont.) in Billings, Mont. Westminster will then travel to Helena, Mont. for a Saturday contest at Carroll (Mont.) at 7 p.m.
 
Both matches during the trip will feature a live video stream and live stats.
 
Griffin Notebook
Westminster travels for a fourth-straight week and they enter league play with a 6-7 overall record. They have only played one true road game, a 3-0 loss at then-No. 22 Vanguard (Calif.). The Griffins are coming off a 2-2 showing at the Big Sky Challenge in Butte, Mont.
 
The Griffins are averaging 11.7 kills per set on the year while hitting .183 as a team. They have totaled at least 40 kills in a match nine times with four matches hitting at least 50 kills. Westminster also records 1.6 service aces per set and they have hit at least five aces in a match on nine occasions.
 
Westminster limits the opposition to .189 hitting while holding them to 11.7 kills per set. The Griffins average 13.5 digs per set while also posting 1.8 blocs per frame. The opposition records 1.4 aces per set.
 
Alexis Aalona is tops on the squad with 152 kills and she ranks third in the conference by posting 3.17 kills per set while also hitting .200. Jessica Chellsen has used her .242 hitting to notch 94 kills on the year and Amara Culpepper has 91 kills and is hitting .224.
 
Taylor Gustafson leads all Griffins with 364 assists which is second in the Frontier and 30th in the NAIA. She is also tied with Aalona and Jaden Green for the team lead with 14 aces. Culpepper leads the team with 33 blocks and Alyse Horton has a team-best 137 digs.
 
About No. 1 Rocky Mountain
Rocky Mountain enters conference play at 11-2 on the season and they are currently the top-ranked team in the NAIA. They became the first Frontier school to ever be ranked No. 1 in the NAIA volleyball poll after claiming wins over three top-10 ranked teams last weekend. Rocky senior, Yang Yang, has won all three Frontier Conference player of the week awards this season and last week was named the NAIA National Player of the Week.
 
About Carroll
Carroll begins league play after going 7-6 during non-conference action. The Saints are receiving votes in this week's NIA Coaches' Poll after going 2-2 at the Big Sky Challenge. They rank second in the conference at 12.3 kills per set and the team is hitting .216 for the year. They hold the opposition to .176 hitting and rank 17th in the NAIA with an average of 2.36 blocks per set.
 
Top 10 Upset
Westminster's thrilling five-set win over then-No. 8 Biola on Aug. 29 was the team's first win over a top-10 ranked team since 2010 and only the fourth all-time. While it was only the 10th win over a ranked team in school history, it was the second in the previous four opportunities for the Griffins. The victory also snapped a three-match losing streak to the Eagles and kept the Griffins perfect in five set matches this season. This week, Westminster will face the nation's No. 1-ranked team for the ninth time in school history. The only win over the top-ranked team was a 3-1 decision over National American on Aug. 25, 2007.
 

Westminster All-Time Top-10 Wins
Aug 24, 2007	#6 Albertson	W, 3-2
Aug 25, 2005	#1 National American	W, 3-1
Sept 4, 2010	vs #6 Biola	W, 3-0
Aug 29, 2014	vs #8 Biola	W, 3-2

Aalona Racking up Kills
With 152 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 902 kills for her career as she looks to become the second player in school history to 1,000 in their career. The first team all-conference performer needs to average 6.5 kills per match to reach the 1,000 milestone.
 

Westminster Career Kills Leaders
1.	1,497	Angie Johnson	2005-07
2.	989	Alison Culp	2006-08
3.	902	Alexis Aalona	2011-14

Also Climbing the Digs Chart
Aalona also ranks seventh in school history with 772 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 2.35 digs per set this season and needs to average 8.5 digs per match the rest of the year to reach the 900-900 club.
 

Westminster Career Digs Leaders
1.	1,937	Kyndall Kordakis	2010-13
2.	1,712	Bree Riet	2005-07
3.	1,225	Tahnie Blymiller	2006-07,09
4.	912	Emily Atkinson	2010-13
5.	870	Alison Culp	2006-08
6.	832	Ericka Evans	2007-10
7.	772	Alexis Aalona	2011-14

Defensive Minded Horton
Alyse Horton has become one of the top defensive players on the team. The junior leads the team with 137 digs and she currently ranks ninth in the conference with an average of 2.91 digs per set. She has reached double figures in digs in seven matches and has also recorded a pair of double-doubles.
 
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 94 kills and she is hitting .242. She averages 2.0 kills per set and has also recorded 21 blocks. Chellsen has been in double figures in the kills department in four matches, including a career-high 16 in the win over Evergreen (Wash.) on Aug. 22.
 
Running the Show
Freshman Taylor Gustafson has stepped into the role of setter early this season. Gustafson is currently second in the conference with 364 assists and she has set the Griffin attack to an average of 11.69 kills per set. At her current pace, Gustafson would become the fourth freshman setter in school history to record 800 assists during their first season.
 
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 play its first home match of 2014 when they welcome Montana Western to the Behnken Field House on Sept. 19 at 7 p.m. MT.