SALT LAKE CITY – The Westminster women's volleyball team will play their first home match of the season on Friday when they welcome Montana Western to the Behnken Field House. The Frontier Conference match will begin at 7 p.m. MT with the Griffins hosting a "Blackout" with fans being encouraged to wear black.
 
Friday's match will be broadcast live on Griffins TV which is available online and through the Livestream app on mobile devices and Roku players. It will also be carried on Comcast 6 in northern Utah. Live stats will also be available for the match.
 
Griffin Notebook
Westminster enters the first home match of the season at 6-9 overall this season and 0-2 in the Frontier. They are coming off an 0-2 trip to Rocky Mountain (Mont.) and Carroll (Mont.) last weekend to open league play. They have dropped three straight overall and six of their last eight.
 
The Griffins are averaging 11.45 kills per set on the year while hitting .170 as a team. They have totaled at least 40 kills in a match 10 times with four matches hitting at least 50 kills. Westminster also records 1.51 service aces per set and they have hit at least five aces in a match on nine occasions.
 
Westminster limits the opposition to .98 hitting while holding them to 12.02 kills per set. The Griffins average 14.35 digs per set while also posting 1.78 blocks per frame. The opposition records 1.47 aces per set.
 
Alexis Aalona is tops on the squad with 165 kills and she ranks third in the conference by posting 3.00 kills per set while also hitting .183. Jessica Chellsen has used her .215 hitting to notch 113 kills on the year and Amara Culpepper has 103 kills and is hitting .235.
 
Taylor Gustafson leads all Griffins with 411 assists which is second in the Frontier and 43rd in the NAIA. Jaden Green has a team-best 16 aces while Alyse Horton leads the Griffins with 159 digs. Culpepper has recorded 40 blocks to rank tied for seventh in the league.
 
About Montana Western
Montana Western comes to town at 5-6 overall and 0-2 in the Frontier Conference. They were also swept in two matches against Carroll and Rocky Mountain last weekend and they have dropped five of their last seven outings. The Bulldogs are recording 12.31 kills per set and they hit .199 as a team. Emily Erickson leads the team with 116 kills and is hitting .218. Paige Lattimer is 26th in the NAIA with an average of 9.89 assists per set and Brea Mitchell is hitting .303 to rank 47th in the country.
 
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 165 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 915 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 6.54 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.	915	Alexis Aalona	2011-14

Also Climbing the Digs Chart
Aalona also ranks seventh in school history with 804 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 2.64 digs per set this season and needs to average 7.39 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.	804	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 159 digs and she currently ranks eighth in the conference with an average of 2.94 digs per set. She has reached double figures in digs in eight 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 113 kills and she is hitting .215. She averages 2.09 kills per set and has also recorded 21 blocks. Chellsen has been in double figures in the kills department in five 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 411 assists and she has set the Griffin attack to an average of 11.45 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
The Griffins remain at home next weekend for a pair of Frontier Conference matches. Defending regular season champion Montana State-Northern visits on Sept. 25 at 7 p.m. MT before Great Falls (Mont.) comes to town on Sept. 27 at 2 p.m.