Volleyball Closes Season at Home on Saturday
The Westminster women's volleyball wraps up the 2016 season on Saturday with a home match against Colorado State – Pueblo. The action in the Behnken Field House begins at 4 p.m. and will have an impact on the upcoming Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Tournament.
 
Tickets for the season finale are available at WestminsterGriffins.com/tickets.
 
Saturday's match will be broadcast live on the RMAC Network with David Winkworth calling the action. There will also be live stats during the match. Links for all live features can be found at WestminsterGriffins.com/live.
 
About the Griffins
The Griffins enter the season's final match at 4-22 overall this season. They are currently 14th in the RMAC standings with a 2-15 record in league play. The Griffins have gone 3-10 at home this season. They will enter the match looking to snap a five-match losing streak.
 
Westminster starts the week averaging 10.97 kills per set and hitting .138 as a team. They rank 12th in the RMAC in kills and 13th in hitting efficiency. The Griffins are 10th in the conference by getting 1.09 service aces per set.
 
Amara Spere leads the Griffins with 199 kills and she ranks 10th in the RMAC by posting 3.40 kills per set. Savannah Ipsen has totaled 182 kills and Aubrey Louder has 128. Reilly Cronyn is hitting a team-best .214 with Spere coming in at .183. Spere and Taylor Gustafson are tied for the team lead with 17 service aces.
 
Griffin opponents are hitting .229 on the season, which has the team 13th in the RMAC in opponent hitting percentage. Westminster is sixth in the conference by getting 15.87 digs per set and they rank 12th at 1.66 blocks per set.
 
Hannah Stearman has recorded a team-best 286 digs while Ipsen has gone for 243. Katie Allen leads the Griffins with 67 blocks. Gustafson has recorded 703 assists and ranks 10th in the RMAC at 7.73 assists per set.
 
Point of Attack
• Amara Spere leads the Griffins with 299 kills and her 3.40 kills per set are 10th in the RMAC. In conference play, Spere is sixth in the conference by averaging 3.61 kills per set. She has been in double figures in kills 17 times this season and in 13 of the past 15 matches she has played. Spere has had at least 15 kills in a match eight times, including a season-high 22 against UCCS on October 7.
 
Up the Charts
• Spere continues to make her way up the career leaderboards at Westminster and starts the week fourth in team history with 823 kills. She became the fourth player in school history with 800 carere kills against CSU-Pueblo on November 5. She is fifth all-time by hitting .197 for her career and ranks seventh with 197 total blocks. Spere can also be found in the Westminster top-10 in attack attempts, solo blocks, and block assists.
 
Dual Threat
• Savannah Ipsen has become the team's second option at outside hitter and has totaled 182 kills for an average of 2.07 per set. Ipsen has been in double figures in kills five times this season. She has recorded double-digit digs 10 times and tallied four double-doubles.
 
Seizing the Moment
• Hannah Stearman has taken over the team lead with 286 digs this season and she is averaging 3.25 digs per set. She has recorded double-digit digs 13 times this season and 12 of the previous 14 outings. In 14 matches since taking over as the starting libero, Stearman is averaging 4.21 digs per set and has three matches with at least 20 digs.
 
Strong Finish
• Aubrey Louder has become an offensive threat for the Griffins as her freshman season comes to an end. Over the previous eight matches, Louder has averaged 3.06 kills per set and is hitting .230. She has recorded 101 of her 138 total kills during that stretch. Louder has led the team in kills three times this season and she recorded a career-high 19 kills at Fort Lewis on November 7.
 
Set the Offense
• Taylor Gustafson has been the Griffins primary setter this season and she currently leads the team with 703 assists. Gustafson averages 7.73 assists per set to rank 10th in the RMAC. Gustafson also averages 2.04 digs per set and is tied for the team lead with 17 aces. She has a team-high seven double-doubles on the year.
 
Match Facts: Colorado State – Pueblo
• CSU-Pueblo leads the all-time series 2-0.
• The ThunderWolves defeated the Griffins 3-1 last Saturday in Pueblo.
• CSUP enters Saturday at 11-15 overall and 9-8 in the RMAC.
• They are still in contention for a spot in the RMAC Tournament, but would be eliminated with a loss.
 
2016 RMAC Tournament
• The 2016 RMAC Volleyball Tournament will be played next week with the top-four teams in the final standings hosting quarterfinal matches on November 15. The highest remaining seed will then host the semifinals and championship on November 18 and 19 respectively. MSU Denver went 18-0 in conference play and clinched the regular season title and tournament's No. 1 seed. Visit RMACsports.org for more information on the tournament and watch all of the action on the RMAC Network.