SALT LAKE CITY – The Westminster women's volleyball team hung around with the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference leaders for two sets before MSU Denver pulled away for a 3-0 sweep on Saturday afternoon in the Behnken Field House.
 
Westminster (2-15, 0-8) couldn't keep up with the offensive prowess of MSU Denver (13-3, 8-0) in the 23-25, 20-25, 17-25 loss. The visitors racked up 57 kills in three sets and hit .341. The Griffins only managed 35 kills and .237 hitting.
 
The first two sets featured 11 ties, but the Griffins were only able to lead at 1-0 in the second set. Every time the home squad would threaten, MSUD would counter with three and four point runs to take control. The Roadrunners then opened the third stanza with five straight points on their way to the sweep.
 
Amara Spere gave the Griffins another solid performance with 16 kills and .361 hitting. The junior totaled eight of those kills in the second set. She also had a service ace and five digs.
 
Savannah Ipsen would finish with seven kills and 12 digs in defeat. Reilly Cronyn recrded her first career kill and she finished with six. Hannah Stearman contributed 17 digs while Emilie Austin had 13.
 
MSUD contributed to the Griffins lower hitting percentage by getting seven blocks and 45 digs. Each team has three aces.
 
Michaela Smith led three Roadrunners in double figures with 14 kills.
 
Westminster will be on the road next weekend as they travel to South Dakota for a pair of conference matches. They open the trip on Friday at Black Hills State in a match that will begin at 7 p.m. and be broadcast live on the RMAC Network.