The Westminster volleyball team returns home this weekend to host a pair of Rocky Mountian Athletic Conference matches. Westminster will host MSU Denver on Friday and then welcome UC-Colorado Springs on Saturday. Both matches are played in the Behnken Field House and will start at 7 p.m.
 
Tickets for both matches are available at WestminsterGriffins.com/tickets.
 
COVERING THE GRIFFINS
Both matches will be broadcast live on the Griffins TV Game Central portal located at portal.stretchinternet.com/westminster. This week's matches will be video only and have no audio commentary.
 
There will also be live stats available for the two matches. Access to live stats and video is free and available at WestminsterGriffins.com/live.
 
FOLLOWING WESTMINSTER VOLLEYBALL
Make sure to like Westminster Griffins on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and You Tube for the latest news about the Griffins. Updates of the weekend will be available on Twitter by following @wc_griffins.
 
Fans can stay connected with Westminster Volleyball by following @griffinvolleyball on Instagram. You can also read the volleyball blog, written by members of the team throughout the season, on the volleyball page at WestminsterGriffins.com.
 
ABOUT WESTMINSTER
Westminster returns home at 5-14 overall this season and with a 2-9 record in RMAC action. They are currently tied for seventh in the Rocky Division and tied for 13th overall. The Griffins have dropped four straight matches and seven of their last eight. They have gone 1-4 at home this season.
 
Westminster is hitting .139 on the year to rank 12th in the RMAC and they are 14th in the league by averaging 10.85 kills per set. The Griffins are getting 1.13 aces per set to rank 11th in the RMAC. Westminster opponents are hitting .202 with the Griffins averaging 15.24 digs and 1.84 blocks per set.
 
Amara Culpepper leads the Griffins with 208 kills and .225 hitting. She is ninth in the RMAC by averaging 3.06 kills per set and she also leads the team with 53 blocks. Alyse Horton has totaled 157 kills to rank second on the team with Jessica Chellsen third with 121 kills.
 
Jacey Saunders has a team-best 354 assists while Taylor Gustafson has 276 assists. Jaden Green and Megan Gallegos are tied for the team lead with 15 service aces and Saunders has added 13. Gallegos leads the team with 286 digs and she ranks seventh in the RMAC by averaging 4.40 digs per set. Kate Tsourmas is seventh in the conference at 0.91 blocks per set.
 
Megan Gallegos is averaging 4.29 digs per set to rank eighth in the conference and she has posted at least 10 digs in a match nine times this season. Culpepper and Kate Tsourmas leads the team with 37 blocks apiece and Tsourmas is fifth in the RMAC by averaging 1.0 blocks per set.
 
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
• MSU Denver – The Roadrunners come to Salt Lake City at 12-8 overall and 9-2 in conference action. They are tied for first in both the Rocky Division and overall in the RMAC. MSU Denver has won its last nine matches with seven three-set sweeps during the span. They average 13.29 kills per set and are hitting .213.
 
MSU Denver swept the Griffins on September 19 in Denver in the only meeting between the two teams all-time.
 
• UC-Colorado Springs – The Mountain Lions begin the week at 14-6 overall and 9-2 in league play. They are tied with MSU Denver in the Rocky Division and for the overall lead in the conference. They have gone 5-1 in road matches and are winners of eight of their last nine outings overall. UCCS averages 13.38 kills per set and hitting .194 for the season.
 
The only meeting in the history of the series was the 3-0 sweep by UCCS on September 18 in Colorado Springs, Colo.
 
500/500 FOR HORTON
Earlier this season, Horton became the sixth player in team history to record 500 kills and 500 digs as a Griffin. Horton is averaging 2.38 kills per set this season and hitting .155. She has seven matches with double-digit kills this season with 10 matches with 10-plus dig. Horton ranks eighth in school history with 604 career kills and ninth with 700 digs.
 
GUSTAFSON OVER 1,000
During non-conference play, Gustafson became just the fourth player in school history to record 1,000 career assists. The sophomore finished last season with 890 assists, the third-most assists by a freshman and sixth-most overall in team history. This season, Gustafson is averaging 4.93 assists per set and she has led the team in assists 11 times. She begins the week fourth in school history with 1,166 career assists.
 
CULPEPPER CLIMBING
Culpepper has been the Griffins most consistent offensive threat this season and she leads the team with 208 kills and .225 hitting. Culpepper has 11 matches with 10-plus kills and she has lead the team in kills 11 times. The sophomore set a school record by hitting .650 with 15 kills against Cal State East Bay on September 11 and was named to the Shark Invitational All-Tournament Team. Culpepper is 12th in school history with 414 career kills and she is ninth all-time with 135 blocks.
 
CHASING 400
Head Coach Al Givens enters the week just one win shy of 400 for his coaching career. He has a career record of 399-539 and is 15-32 in less than two years leading the Griffins. In his 30th season as the head coach of a collegiate program, Givens has recorded 23 seasons with at least 10 wins.
 
UP NEXT
Next weekend sees the Griffins made the trip to South Dakota for a pair of matches. They play at Black Hills State on October 30 before visiting South Dakota Mines on October 31.