Volleyball Game Notes (.pdf Format)

Match Information

vs. Eastern New Mexico
Date: Thursday, November 4, 2010
Time: 7 p.m. CT

vs. West Texas A&M
Date: Saturday, November 6, 2010
Time: 2 p.m. CT

Location: San Angelo, Texas
Arena: Stephens Arena/Junell Center
Capacity: 5,500
Live Stats: AngeloSports.com
Live Video: AngeloSports.com
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The Matches
• Eastern New Mexico: Angelo State will face Eastern New Mexico Thursday, Nov. 4, in the last week of the regular season. The 'Belles lead the all-time series with the Zias, 33-19. The Rambelles have defeated the Zias five consecutive times since 2006. During the 2006 season, the two squads faced off twice with Eastern New Mexico winning the first match 3-2, and Angelo State claiming the second in five sets.

• West Texas A&M: The 'Belles and the Lady Buffs will go head-to-head for the 60th time in program history. West Texas A&M holds the advantage in the series, with a record of 44-15 over Angelo State. The Rambelles are looking for their first win over the Lady Buffs since 2004, when ASU swept its conference rivals at the Junell Center. Since 2005, West Texas has put together a 7-0 record over Angelo State.

The Coaches
• Angelo State: Chuck Waddington (Rensselaer, 1993) took over the ASU program in 2008 and has since guided the 'Belles to a 55-38 overall mark. Waddington has propelled the Rambelles to back-to-back conference appearances in 2008 and 2009 and looks to be heading in the same direction this season. Under Waddington's tutelage, the 'Belles finished third in the LSC Tournament last season and are 11-1 in conference action in 2010.

• Eastern New Mexico: Mike Maguire (Mesa State College, 1981) returned to the helm of the Zias after a three year hiatus. Prior to his leave, Maguire accumulated a 392-269 record over 20 years as theEastern New Mexico head coach. Since his return, he has guided his squad to a 12-14 overall mark.

• West Texas A&M: Jason Skoch (Oklahoma State, 1998) is in just his second year with the Lady Buffs, but he has already established himself as their leader. In his first season at the helm, Skoch led West Texas A&M to a 39-4 record, its 15th LSC title, 20th NCAA Regional apperarance, 11th NCAA Regional title and 11th Elite Eight appearance. This season, he has guided the Lady Buffs to a perfect 12-0 conference record.

The Program
• The 'Belles went 3-0 last week stretching their winning streak to nine matches. This is the Rambelles' longest winning streak since they won 14 straight to finish the 1992 regular-season.
• Last week, Angelo State swept LSC foes Incarnate Word and Texas A&M-Kingsville, to win its 11th straight conference match. The 'Belles also defeated St. Mary's, 3-1, in a non-conference match.
• ASU is in third place in the Lone Star Conference standings with an 11-1 conference record.
• Head coach Chuck Waddington added assistant coach Qi Wang to his staff over the summer. Wang brings a wealth of experience to Angelo State as he was the former head coach at Florida Tech, Northern Michigan and Truman State. The China native led Truman State to the national title game in 2002 and 2004, and was named Division II National Coach of the Year in 2002.
• Former East Central standout Holly Hicks also has joined the 'Belles coaching staff as graduate assistant. Hicks enters her first year of coaching with numerous hours of playing time on her resume. The Round Rock, Texas native competed as a member of the Austin Juniors, one of the top club programs in the state, and earned an athletic scholarship to Texas Tech.
• ASU Volleyball was picked to finish third in the conference behind West Texas A&M and Abilene Christian University.

This Week's Opponents
• Eastern New Mexico: The Zias are looking to snap a three-match conference losing skid after dropping matches to Tarleton State (3-1), West Texas A&M (3-0), and Incarnate Word (3-0). Eastern New Mexico's last conference win came on Oct. 21, when it defeated Texas A&M-Kingsville in four sets in Portales, N.M. The Zias have only won two road matches and are looking to get their first win over the 'Belles since 2006. Eastern New Mexico is led by Kristen Beck and Jessica King. Beck has amassed a team-best 264 kills and 27 service aces, while King, a junior middle blocker, is hitting a team-leading .267 and has put up 64 total blocks. Setter Veronica Valdez-Kent leads the squad with 886 assists, while Dallas Russell has 373 digs.

• West Texas A&M: The Lady Buffs have won eight matches in a row and hold an impressive 12-0 LSC mark. West Texas A&M has not lost a match since it was swept by Oklahoma Baptist on Oct. 15. The Lady Buffs have won four straight Lone Star Conference titles, their last coming under head coach Jason Skoch. Lauren Thedford holds the team lead with 313 kills and 422 digs. The Lady Buffs are also led by Stormi Lancaster's .267 hitting percentage and Erika Dupree's 701 assists. West Texas A&M leads the conference in three categories. The Lady Buffs are ranked first in hitting percentage (.231), assists per set (12.77) and kills per set (13.60).