The Westminster volleyball team returns home to play a pair of Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference matches this weekend. The Griffins will host No. 22 Colorado School of Mines on Friday and then welcome Colorado Christian on Saturday. Both matches will begin at 7 p.m. in the Behnken Field House.
Friday's match is Parents' Night with the team honoring their parents before the match. The Griffins will then honor its four seniors during on Saturday for Senior Night.
COVERING THE GRIFFINSBoth matches will be broadcast live on the Griffins TV Game Central portal located at
portal.stretchinternet.com/westminster. David Winkworth will handle the play-by-play of the action.
Live stats will be available for both matches in the Game Central portal. They can also be accessed at
www.sidearmstats.com/westminster/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 returns home at 7-16 overall this season and 4-11 in RMAC action. The Griffins are currently tied for 12th in the conference standings with three matches to play. They have won two straight matches overall and are 1-6 in the Behnken Field House.
The Griffins are hitting .154 on the season while averaging 11.15 kills per set. They have averaged 12.4 kills per set over the past four matches and are hitting .216 during that time. As a team, Westminster is posting 1.04 service aces per set. They hold the opposition to .205 hitting by averaging 1.85 blocks and 15.36 digs per set.
Amara Culpepper leads the team with 286 kills and .245 hitting. The sophomore has climbed to sixth in the RMAC by averaging 3.40 kills per set and she has recorded at least 15 kills in a match 11 times, including eight straight.
Alyse Horton is second on the team with 192 kills with
Jessica Chellsen adding 154 kills.
Desiree Wickwar is also over 100 kills for the season as she enters the week with 120. The duo of
Taylor Gustafson and
Jacey Saunders have combined to record 783 assists. Gustafson leads the team with 414 with Saunders right behind with 369.
Megan Gallegos leads the Griffins with 360 digs and she is sixth in the RMAC by getting 4.44 per set. Gallegos has led the team in digs 18 times this season and recorded at least 20 digs in five matches. The sophomore also leads the team with 17 aces. Culpepper has a team-best 57 blocks.
Katie Allen is fourth in the RMAC at 0.92 blocks per set while
Kate Tsourmas is sixth at 0.91.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
• No. 22 Colorado Mines – The Orediggers make their first trip to Salt Lake City at 19-5 overall. They are currently first in the RMAC by going 13-2 in league matches and they have secured a berth into the RMAC Tournament. Colorado Mines has gone 6-2 on the road this season and they are coming consecutive sweeps of the New Mexico schools last weekend.
Westminster and Colorado Mines will play for the first time on Friday.
• Colorado Christian – The Cougars begin the week at 12-13 overall and 7-8 in RMAC play. They are currently tied for eighth in the conference race as they try to make the conference tournament. CCU has compiled at 3-6 record on the road this season and they had a three-match winning streak snapped with a loss at Western New Mexico last Saturday.
Saturday's match will mark the first-ever meeting between the Griffins and Cougars.
500/500 FOR HORTONEarlier this season, Horton became the sixth player in team history to record 500 kills and 500 digs as a Griffin. Horton is averaging 2.34 kills per set this season and hitting .156. She has seven matches with double-digit kills this season with 14 matches with 10-plus dig. Horton currently ranks sixth in school history with 639 career kills and eighth with 753 digs.
CULPEPPER CLIMBINGCulpepper has been the Griffins most consistent offensive threat this season and she leads the team with 286 kills and .245 hitting. Culpepper has 11 matches with at least 15 kills this season and she has lead the team in kills 15 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 11th in school history with 459 kills and ninth with 139 blocks. Her 286 kills this season rank as the 11th-most for a single season in team history.
MILESTONE WATCHWith four matches left this season there are a few Griffins approaching statistical milestones. Culpepper needs eight kills to reach 500 for her career while Chellsen is 21 away from that same mark. Only nine players in school history have recorded 500 kills as a Griffin. Horton starts the week 57 digs shy of 800 and Gallegos needs 89 to reach the mark only seven players have ever accomplished at the school. Jaden green needs 41 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 401-541 and is 17-34 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 NEXTWestminster closes out conference play with a trip to Grand Junction, Colo., to face Colorado Mesa on November 13.
