Third week of conference play

The Westminster women's volleyball team (4-8, 1-3 RMAC) heads into the third week of conference play as they host Chadron State (NE) and Regis (CO).  Friday the Griffins face Chadron State (4-9, 1-4 RMAC) at 7:00 p.m. from the Behnken Field House.  Saturday Westminster looks to upset conference leader and No. 11 ranked Regis (13-1, 5-0 RMAC) in a 4:00 p.m. match.  Both matches can be viewed on the RMAC Network and followed through live stats.

Scouting the opponents 

Chadron State sits at 4-9 overall and 1-4 in the RMAC with a conference victory over Western State.  The Eagles take on the Griffins having lost their last two conference matches against Colorado Mesa and Regis.  

The 11^th-ranked Regis Rangers remain atop the RMAC with a perfect 5-0 record.  The Rangers are 13-1 overall, riding a winning streak of eight straight matches with conference wins over Colorado Mines, MSU Denver, University of Colorado-Colorado Springs (UCCS), Colorado Mesa and Western State Colorado.

The Week in Review

Last Saturday, #23 Colorado School of Mines bounced back from a first-set loss to defeat Westminster, 3-1, and stay perfect in RMAC play this season.  The loss drops Westminster to (4-8, 1-3 RMAC) on the season.

The Orediggers (10-3, 4-0 RMAC) were led by Madeline Behr, Lindsey Jin, and Abby Tiesman, with Delaney Duis pushing out 54 assists. Behr led all players with 21 kills hitting .417, Jin had 18 kills hitting .361, and Tiesman swung for 16 kills as Mines rebounded from a negative first set to hit .179 for the match.

Defensively Mines totaled 43 digs in the match. Westminster stayed in it with outstanding blocking, stuffing 15 total blocks, as Audrey Green led with nine kills and 12 digs.  Amber Lamborn added eight kills, Taylor Harvey had seven kills, five block assists and two solo.  Whitney Wakefield added six kills and was the leading attacker hitting .294 along with two block assists and one solo.  Taylor Gustafson finished the match 31 assists and three block assists.

"Our kids really battled and fought hard. We had a swing at 25-24, to extend the match to the fifth set, before Mines made three key plays in a row.  We out blocked Mines in the match 15 to eight", said Al Givens, Westminster Head Coach.

In the first set the Griffins got up early winning 25-18. Mines hit -.026 with 13 errors, and Westminster had five total blocks to carry their defensive effort.

Mines would win in the second 25-14. The Orediggers hit .441 as Lindsey Jin had six kills in the set to even the match. Mines controlled the third set to win 25-20.

Westminster took control of the fourth in the middle of the set on a string of three straight Hannah Stearman aces, going up 15-10, but Mines answered back with an 8-3 run to knot it at 18-18. It was point-for-point from there, with Mines answering Westminster's set point at 24-23 to eventually go up 26-25, and close it out at 27-25. Westminster was defeated at Colorado Christian in three sets (26-24, 25-18 and 25-9) on Thursday night.  The Cougars came into the match with an overall record of 4-7, and 2-1 in conference play, the Griffins stood at 4-6 overall and 1-1 in the RMAC. 
 
Last Thursday, Colorado Christian led for most of the first set but would not run away with it. In the latter half, the Griffins we're up 24-23 before three key plays by Colorado Christian would take the lead. The Cougars ultimately won the first set 26-24 when the winning point was served up as an ace by senior Joelle LeFevre, her second of the set. Leading the way in the opening set was senior opposite hitter Sophia Proano with six kills.
 
The second set saw Westminster open the scoring by notching the first point of the set, but the Cougars would control the action after that, never trailing again and winning the set 25-18. The second set saw four players notching two or more kills to ultimately edge the Griffins.  Defensively the Griffins struggled and did not have an answer for Sophia Proano who led Colorado Christan and all-hitters with 16 kills, 2 errors on 28 swings and hit .538.

Offensively, Westminster served well and Amara Spere and Whitney Wakefield hit .278 and .273 in the loss while  Audrey Green added a team high seven kills.  Megan Gallegos led in the digs count with 12.

Looking Ahead
The Griffins continue RMAC play next weekend on the road at UCCS Thursday 7:00 p.m. and MSU Denver Saturday at 5:00 p.m.  Fans can watch the action on the RMAC Network