Fourth week of conference play

Comiing off a home split, women's volleyball (5-9, 2-3 RMAC) heads into the fourth week of conference play on the road to Colorado Springs to face UCCS Thursday at 7:00 p.m. and Denver Saturday for a 3:00 p.m. match at MSU Denver.  Both matches can be viewed on the RMAC Network.

Scouting the opponents 

UCCS sits at 8-7 overall and 5-2 in the RMAC with a conference loss to MSU Denver Tuesday.  MSU Denver sits at third place in the RMAC standings at 6-1 and 9-6 overall on the season.  They defeated UCCS on Tuesday 3-1.

The Week in Review

Last Friday, after narrowly losing the first two sets (23-25, 30-32), the Griffins swung the momentum and won the last three sets (25-19, 25-17, 15-10) to defeat Chadron State.

The Griffins had their best hitting percentage of the season, hitting .278 with 73 kills and 21 errors.  Freshman hitter Audrey Green had 21 kills and 4 blocks, and senior middle Amara Spere got 14 kills and 7 blocks.  Senior Setter Taylor Gustafson had an incredible 64 assists.

Defensively the Griffins had 14 blocks, their second-best of the season after recording 15 against Colorado Mines in their previous match.  The team had a total of 64 digs, senior libero Megan Gallegos recording 17 on the night.

Saturday Westminster played host to #11 Regis.  The Rangers entered the match having won their last 8 matches.  The Griffins hoped to build off their comeback win against Chadron, on Friday, to stop the Rangers in their current form.  After a close first set the Rangers won the last 2 sets defeating the Griffins and improving their record to 11-1 overall and 5-0 in conference play.  The Griffins end the weekend at 5-8 overall and 2-4 in conference play.

Both teams came out in the first set ready for battle.  There were 6 lead changes and 14 ties during the set.  The Griffins held the lead for 13 of the final 16 points and looked like they would take the first set.  A late five point run by the Rangers saw them steal the first set 26-24.

The Rangers took control early in the second set and never relinquished the lead again, winning both sets 25-13 and 25-10.  The Ranger offense showed how good they are with only 1 error in the final 2 sets, and a .441 hitting percentage in the second set and .526 hitting percentage in the third set.

Sophomore Amber Lamborn, 11 digs, and senior libero Megan Gallegos, 10 digs, led the defensive efforts for the Griffins.  On offense, freshman hitter Audrey Green had 11 kills, Whitney Wakefield had 8 kills and setter Taylor Gustafson had 24 assists.

Looking Ahead
The Griffins host South Dakota Mines Oct. 13th at 7:00 p.m. and Black Hills State Saturday at 4:00 p.m.  Tickets for both matches can be purchased in advance online and both matches will be shown live on the RMAC Network.