ANCHORAGE, Alaska – The Westminster women's volleyball team opened the 2016 season with a 3-0 (25-16, 25-12, 25-19) loss to No. 14 Alaska Anchorage on Thursday night in the opening match of the SpringHill Suites Invitational.
 
Westminster (0-1) struggled with the tough serving of Alaska Anchorage (3-1) as the home team racked up 17 service aces. UAA also controlled the match on the offensive side with 40 kills and .326 hitting.
 
The Griffins totaled just 24 kills in the loss and they got 11 of those in the opening set. After hitting .250 in the opening stanza, Westminster finished the night at .143. They would record 39 digs in defeat and added three aces and three blocks.
 
Amara Spere led the Griffins with seven kills while Desiree Wickwar had five kills and hit .308. Megan Gallegos recorded 16 digs in the three sets. Sydnee Simmons tallied five kills in her collegiate debut with Savannah Ipsen adding three kills and six digs.
 
Leah Swiss and Chrisalyn Johnson led UAA with 10 kills apiece. Swiss also posted six aces and Taylor Noga added five.
 
Westminster continues plays at the SpringHill Suites Invitational with two matches on Friday. They face Stanislaus State at 1:30 p.m. MT before a 6:30 p.m. MT match against No. 19 Arkansas Fort Smith.