IRVINE, Calif. — The Westminster College women’s volleyball team dropped two matches at the first day of the Asics/Wyndham Labor Day Classic on Friday at CU Arena. Westminster lost in four sets to Vanguard (Calif.) to open the tournament and then fell in four sets to No. 16 Westmont (Calif.) this evening.
The Griffins (3-3) won the first set against Vanguard, 25-22, before losing the next three sets by scores of 18-25, 20-25, 23-25. They hit .173 against the Lions (3-2) with 45 kills and five service aces. Vanguard posted 61 kills and hit .224 despite eight blocks from the Griffins.
Mayra Ramirez led the Griffins with a career-high 10 kills while hitting .318 for the match. The junior middle blocker also recorded a team-high three blocks. Jessica Chellsen added seven kills and hit .304 with no hitting errors. Libero Kyndall Kordakis had 21 digs.
The night cap against Westmont (6-0) also saw the Griffins take the opening set before losing in four (25-21, 20-25, 21-25, 23-25). Westminster had a 48-45 edge in kills but hit just .125 to the .176 by the Warriors. Westminster also recorded eight service aces, 72 digs and seven blocks in the match.
Alexis Aalona was tops of the team with 14 kills, but she only managed a .071 hitting efficiency with 11 errors. She added 10 digs for her fourth double-double of the season. Jovana Sisovic contributed 13 kills and hit .323 off the bench. Kordakis notched a season-high 30 digs.
Westminster returns to action Saturday with three matches against teams ranked in the top 10 of the NAIA Coaches’ Poll. The Griffins begin the day against No. 9 The Master’s (Calif.) at 10 a.m.