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COURTESY PHOTOWestmont volleyball players Keelyn Kistner, left, and Lexi Malone have been named Players of the Week by the Golden State Athletic Conference.
ALISO VIEJO — After winning a pair of rivalry-matches and claiming the top spot in the Golden State Athletic Conference, the Westmont volleyball team (16-4, 10-2 GSAC) has earned itself another pair of weekly honors.
For the third time this season and second consecutive week, senior Keelyn Kistner has been named GSAC Setter of the Week, while senior middle hitter Lexi Malone has been named GSAC Attacker of the week.
“To have both Lexi and Keelyn honored in the same week is amazing,” said Westmont Head Coach Ruth McGolpin. “They’re good friends, roommates, and have been playing together for four years, so their chemistry and trust is incredible.
“Both are leaders on and off the floor, and together, they take quite the dynamic duo. I’m proud of them, and proud of the team around them after winning some big matches in rivalry week.”
Kistner earned the honor last week after collecting 43 assists against OUAZ and ACU, while also going on an absurd 18-point service run. This week, Kistner remained a consistent strength in Westmont’s 6-2 offense, collecting another 47 assists.
Her best game of the two-week stretch came last Tuesday night in Santa Ana, when Westmont swapped places with Vanguard atop the GSAC standings. That night, Kistner had 24 assists and a pair of service aces.
Malone, the senior middle hitter, earns the honor after a monster Saturday night in Santa Clarita. Against the Mustangs, Malone recorded a career-high 20 kills in just four sets, hitting at an astronomical .515 clip. Earlier in the week, Malone also recorded 13 kills in the win against Vanguard.
Both Kistner and Malone are featured on the GSAC leaderboards, with Kistner fifth in the conference in total assists (390), and Malone fifth in the conference in total blocks (67). Kistner also leads the GSAC in service aces, with 39.
Kistner, Malone, and the rest of the Warriors return to action on Friday night in San Dimas, when Westmont takes on Life Pacific (12-4, 9-4) at 7 p.m. Life Pacific is currently in second place, 1.5 games behind Westmont. However, on Oct. 1, Life Pacific was responsible for one of Westmont’s two GSAC losses, a five-set heartbreaker in Santa Barbara.
Links to live coverage for the match will be available at athletics.westmont.edu.
Jacob Norling is the sports information assistant at Westmont College.
email: sports@newspress.com
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