The Westminster volleyball team will play its final Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference match of the season on Saturday when they face Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction, Colo. The match is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. in Brownson Arena.
COVERING THE GRIFFINSSaturday's match will be broadcast live on Griffins TV through the Game Central portal available at
portal.stretchinternet.com/westminster. The video is being produced by Colorado Mesa.
Colorado Mesa will also have live stats available at
www.sidearmstats.com/coloradomesa/wvball.
FOLLOWING WESTMINSTER VOLLEYBALLMake 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.
ABOUT WESTMINSTERWestminster head into the final conference match at 7-18 overall and 4-13 in RMAC play. They are currently tied for 12th in the league standings with one match remaining for all 16 teams. Westminster has gone 3-6 on the road this season, including wins in their past two road matches.
The Griffins are hitting .151 on the season while averaging 11.07 kills per set. The team is getting 1.09 service aces per set. Westminster is holding the opposition to .206 hitting efficiency and allowing 13.3 kills per set. The Griffins are averaging 15.32 digs and 1.86 blocks per set.
Amara Culpepper leads the team with 304 kills and .220 hitting. The sophomore has climbed to sixth in the RMAC by averaging 3.34 kills per set and she has recorded at least 15 kills in a match 11 times.
Alyse Horton is second on the team with 207 kills with
Jessica Chellsen adding 167 kills.
Desiree Wickwar is also over 100 kills for the season as she enters the week with 132. The duo of
Taylor Gustafson and
Jacey Saunders have combined to record 846 assists. Gustafson leads the team with 469 with Saunders right behind with 377.
Megan Gallegos leads the Griffins with 388 digs and she is seventh in the RMAC by getting 4.41 per set. Gallegos has led the team in digs 20 times this season and recorded at least 20 digs in five matches. The sophomore also leads the team with 19 aces.
Katie Allen has recorded a team-best 62 blocks and she ranks fifth in the RMAC at 0.93 blocks per set,
Kate Tsourmas is seventh in that category be averaging 0.90 blocks per set.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
• Colorado Mesa – The Mavericks enter their final match of the regular season on Saturday at 15-10 overall and 13-4 in RMAC play. The have clinched a berth in the RMAC Tournament and are still in play to host an opening round game. CMU has gone 7-1 at home this season and they have eight wins in their past 10 matches. The team is hitting .173 and averages 13.08 kills per set on the year.
Colorado Mesa holds a 3-2 edge in all-time meetings with the Griffins and they are 1-0 when playing at home. Westminster defeated the Mavericks, 3-1, in the Behnken Field House on September 22.
600/600 FOR HORTONEarlier this season, Horton became the sixth player in team history to record 600 kills and 600 digs as a Griffin. Horton is averaging 2.33 kills per set this season and hitting .160. She has eight matches with double-digit kills this season with 15 matches with 10-plus dig. Horton currently ranks sixth in school history with 654 career kills and eighth with 773 digs.
CULPEPPER CLIMBINGCulpepper has been the Griffins most consistent offensive threat this season and she leads the team with 304 kills and .220 hitting. Culpepper has 11 matches with at least 15 kills this season and she has lead the team in kills 16 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. In just two seasons, Culpepper ranks 10th in school history with 510 kills and ninth with 142 blocks. Her 304 kills this season rank as the ninth-most for a single season in team history.
MILESTONE WATCHWith two matches left this season there are a few Griffins approaching statistical milestones. Chellsen needs eight kills to reach 500 for her career. Only 10 players in school history have recorded 500 kills as a Griffin. Horton starts the week 27 digs shy of 800 and Gallegos needs 61 to reach the mark only seven players have ever accomplished at the school. Jaden green needs 48 digs to reach 500 as a Griffin.
400 WINS FOR GIVENSWith a 3-0 sweep at Black Hills State last Friday, Head Coach
Al Givens recorded his 400th career win as a collegiate head coach. Givens enter the week with a career record of 401-543 and is 17-36 in two seasons 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 NEXTWestminster wraps up the season with a trip to St. George, Utah, to face in-state rival Dixie State on November 18.
