Westminster volleyball battled the No. 19 team in the country, MSU Denver, on Friday night at Auraria Event Center, falling in three sets, 0-3 (17-25, 13-25, 24-26), with the Griffins pushing the third set to the final points before the Rowdies pulled it out.
GAME BREAKDOWN
Set One
MSU Denver took the opener 25-17, but Westminster had plenty to build on. Clara Philipsson hit .667 with two kills, Jocelyn Grieser added three kills on a .286 clip, and Apiline White contributed two kills and an ace. Nora Elliot ran the offense with four assists, Alie Coleman was perfect from the service line, and Ava Livolsi was perfect on her serves as well while adding three digs.
Set Two
MSU Denver won the second set 25-13. Alie Coleman led the Griffins with three kills on a .429 clip, and Nora Elliot ran the offense with four assists, served an ace, and was perfect from the line. Ava Livolsi passed a perfect 12-for-12 in serve receive to go with eight digs, and Isabella Deantoni was perfect both serving and passing.
Set Three
Westminster made it a battle in the third, falling just short 26-24 after trading points deep into the set. Kyra Mahler was perfect on her lone kill attempt, Clara Philipsson added a kill and two block assists, and Alie Coleman chipped in three block assists. Apiline White passed a perfect 6-for-6 in serve receive, Nora Elliot went a perfect 9-for-9 from the service line with four assists, and Tiia Heikkinen ran the offense with six assists. Jocelyn Grieser passed a perfect 3-for-3, Isabella Deantoni was perfect serving and passing once more, and Ava Livolsi served an ace to go with five digs.
GRIFFIN PERFORMANCES
Apiline White led Westminster with a team-high 8.0 points to go with six kills. Jocelyn Grieser finished with six kills as well, and Alie Coleman added four kills to go with 6.0 points. Clara Philipsson added three kills on a .222 clip. Nora Elliot ran the offense with a team-high 12 assists and an ace, while Tiia Heikkinen chipped in 10 assists. Libero Ava Livolsi anchored the defense with a team-high 16 digs, and Alie Coleman led the team at the net with four block assists.
As a team, Westminster finished with 24 kills, 24 assists, three aces, 37 digs and eight block assists.
