The Westminster volleyball team will close out the 2015 season on Wednesday when they face in-State rival Dixie State in St. George, Utah. The non-conference match will begin at 7 p.m. from the Student Activities Center on the Dixie State University campus.
COVERING THE GRIFFINSThe match will be broadcast live on Southern Utah Live and be available for $10.95. They will also have live stats available during the match. Links for both live features are available at
WestminsterGriffins.com/live.
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 enters the final match of the season at 7-19 overall and they finished tied for 12th in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference with a 4-14 mark in league matches. The Griffins are 3-7 in road matches this season and they have dropped three straight matches overall.
The Griffins are hitting .149 on the season while averaging 11.01 kills per set. The team is getting 1.09 service aces per set. Westminster is holding the opposition to .205 hitting efficiency and allowing 13.5 kills per set. The Griffins are averaging 15.48 digs and 1.93 blocks per set.
Amara Culpepper leads the team with 312 kills and .211 hitting. The sophomore has climbed to sixth in the RMAC by averaging 3.32 kills per set and she has recorded at least 15 kills in a match 11 times.
Alyse Horton is second on the team with 215 kills with
Jessica Chellsen adding 169 kills.
Desiree Wickwar is also over 100 kills for the season as she enters the week with 134. The duo of
Taylor Gustafson and
Jacey Saunders have combined to record 871 assists. Gustafson leads the team with 483 with Saunders right behind with 388.
Megan Gallegos leads the Griffins with 401 digs and she is seventh in the RMAC by getting 4.41 per set. Gallegos has led the team in digs 21 times this season and recorded at least 20 digs in five matches. The sophomore is tied with
Jaden Green for the team lead in service aces with 19.
Katie Allen has recorded a team-best 67 blocks and she ranks fifth in the RMAC at 0.96 blocks per set,
Kate Tsourmas is sixth in that category be averaging 0.92 blocks per set.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
• Dixie State – The Red Storm begin the week at 18-9 overall and they have clinched the PacWest crown with a 15-4 mark in conference play. DSU has won 15 of its last 17 overall, a stretch that propelled the Storm to their first-ever PacWest title, which was clinched late last Saturday night after Dixie State won at Hawai'i-Hilo (3-1). Dixie State also received the PacWest's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, marking the second-straight season the Storm has advanced to NCAA postseason play.
The Griffins and Strom have split a pair of meetings with both coming in the Behnken Field House. DSU claimed a 3-1 win in the last meeting on August 24, 2013.
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 2.34 kills per set this season and hitting .166. She has eight matches with double-digit kills this season with 16 matches with 10-plus dig. Horton currently ranks sixth in school history with 662 career kills and eighth with 784 digs.
CULPEPPER CLIMBINGCulpepper has been the Griffins most consistent offensive threat this season and she leads the team with 312 kills and .211 hitting. Culpepper has 11 matches with at least 15 kills this season and she has lead the team in kills 17 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 518 kills and ninth with 119 blocks. Her 312 kills this season rank as the ninth-most for a single season in team history.
MILESTONE WATCHEntering the final match of the season there are a few Griffins approaching statistical milestones. Chellsen needs six kills to reach 500 for her career. Only 10 players in school history have recorded 500 kills as a Griffin. Horton starts the week 16 digs shy of 800 and Gallegos needs 48 to reach the mark only seven players have ever accomplished at the school. Jaden green needs 43 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 401-544 and is 17-37 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.
