SALT LAKE CITY - Westminster volleyball (4-15, 2-8 RMAC) had 50 kills and just five attack errors with a .455 hitting percentage as a group in a 3-0 (25-20, 25-17, 27-25) win over Black Hills State (5-13, 2-8 RMAC) on Saturday at the Behnken Field House.

Olivia Curtis finished the match with a team-high 13 kills on just 16 attempts (.813) at the net to help Westminster to its best offensive performance of the season.  Malinda Messner added nine kills on 13 attempts (.615) while Maya Hamaoka got the start and finished with 10 kills on 18 attempts (.444).

Bri Mortensen returned to the lineup to help set the Griffins' offense and finished with 16 assists while Katie Jacox had 21 assists in addition to seven kills and 10 digs defensively.

Black Hills State had an efficient attack on the afternoon, finishing with a .293 hitting percentage as a team, but the Yellow Jackets could not keep pace with a Griffins' offense that hit .424 and .556 in the first and second sets, respectively.  The two sides went back-and-forth with quick offense to begin the match but Westminster went on an 8-2 run to pull ahead, 21-16.

After finishing off the first set, 25-20, the Griffins again went on a mid-set run to pull away from the Yellow Jackets in set two. 

With Lyida Parkinson (Miller) serving, Westminster reeled off nine points in a row which was capped off by a Parkinson service ace to give the Griffins a 15-9 advantage.  Westminster had just one attack error in the second set and led by as many as nine before taking a two-set lead with a resounding 25-17 win.

Black Hills State played came out with a sense of urgency in set three, taking a 14-9 lead after a rare bad set from Katie Jacox.  The Griffins went on to win the next five points, however, to get themselves back into position to finish off the sweep.  Black Hills State went on another mini run to go up 21-17 and led Westminster, 23-20, when the Griffins responded with four-straight points to earn their first match point opportunity ahead, 24-23.

Black Hills State answered the bell twice to bring the match to 25-25 but an attack error from Karly Marx was followed up by a Malinda Messner kill to give the Griffins the straight-set victory.

The first three-set win of the season for Westminster also snapped a seven-match losing skid for the Griffins who finished with 50 kills and 44 assists, both season-highs in a three-set match.

Westminster will be back on the road next weekend as it travels to play CSU Pueblo on Friday night and UCCS on Sat, Oct. 23.

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