NCAA Division II South Central Region Volleyball Tournament

MATCH NOTES

SAN ANGELO, Texas – The Angelo State Belles and St. Edward's University Hilltoppers meet for the second time this season at 5 p.m. on Thursday in the first round of the NCAA Division II South Central Region Volleyball Tournament at the UCM Multipurpose Building in Warrensburg, Mo. The Belles are ending a 19-year absence from the NCAA tournament and the Hilltoppers are in the tournament for the first time in six seasons.

“It's exciting that we are in the tournament, but I don't want that to be it,” ASU sophomore Maddie Huth said. “I want us to go out and win the tournament. We don't want to go all the way out to Missouri to play one game and then come back the next day.”

Angelo State (30-5) won the first meeting between the two universities, 3-0, when St. Edward's made the trip to San Angelo in early September for the ASU Invitational. The win was the eighth of the season for the Belles who would go on to start the season with a 15-0 record before losing to Washburn University. The Hilltoppers (21-10) started their season with a 9-8 record but won 12 of their next 14 and finished the regular season with a 13-1 Heartland Conference record and a regular season championship. SEU had winning streaks of seven, six and five this season.

“We played them earlier this year so we have an idea of what they do,” ASU head coach Chuck Waddington said of St. Edward's. “But that was at the beginning of the season so I'm sure they're doing some things a little different right now. They have a great setter, serve well and have good ball control. They are going there for the same reason we are. We want to win, and so do they.”

Additional Quotes

Angelo State head coach Chuck Waddington
On how he feels about the Belles' going into the regional tournament:
I feel like schedule-wise we put ourselves in a position to compete at this point in the season. The Lone Star Conference tournament is set up exactly like the regional tournament where you have to win three straight days to win a championship. I feel like we are prepared and our kids know what to expect. They know the formula and how everything is supposed to work. I feel like we've prepared ourselves for this situation. Now we have to get up there and execute.

Shelby Wilt: Freshman defensive specialist from Dalhart
On her mindset going into the regional tournament:
You work hard in practice to get to the games to win. Everybody is out there working to win and we are no different. It's just a matter of going out there and playing the best and getting it. I think we are ready to play at our full potential at regionals.

Maddie Huth: Sophomore middle blocker from The Colony
On her mindset going into the regional tournament:
I think we are playing well going into the tournament. We have some areas we need to improve on to keep winning.

Debbie Ohl: Senior right-side hitter from Hutchinson, Kansas
On her mindset going into the regional tournament:
I want us to go up there and fight as hard as we can and never give up. We started strong and we want to finish strong. We have to play our heart out as a team and play to our potential. We have tons of talent on this team and can do amazing things if we stay focused and give it our all.

Alex Woolsey: Junior setter from Plano
On her mindset going into the regional tournament:
We are not going up there with the mindset of losing. We know that it is going to take everyone playing their best, but we all believe in each other and know that we can do this. We are a really well-rounded team and have the ability to move the ball around to cause other teams problems. I think our strength is our depth that keeps teams off balance.

Celeste Bonter: Senior outside hitter from Ontario, Canada
On her mindset going into the regional tournament:
We have a lot of belief in ourselves and expect to be playing on the final day. We have all the tools, we just have to put them all together at the right time.

On the Belles-Hilltoppers first match of the season:
They didn't play their best game the last time we played them. I fully expect to see a different team this time. They have a really good right-side lefty who we have to be able to stop. They play great defense and will give us a huge test. I'm not expecting anything less than a battle.

Individual Efforts

Angelo State Belles

Celeste Bonter comes into the regional tournament leading Angelo State with 343 kills, while Chelsea Gibson has added 325 and Debbie Ohl 281. Sophomores Maddie Huth and Kaelen Valdez have added 254 and 253 kills this season, respectively. Alex Woolsey has orchestrated the Belles' offense to near perfection this year with 1,452 assists and has added 378 digs. Freshman Shelby Wilt has paced the Belles in digs with 537, while senior Kayla Smith has 400 digs.

Valdez led the Belles at the Lone Star Conference tournament last weekend with 38 kills, while Huth added 29, Gibson 28 and Bonter 23 in the three games played. Woolsey had 124 assists – including 54 in the Belles 3-1 win over Abilene Christian. Huth, Woolsey and Gibson were named LSC all-tournament selections.

Bonter, Gibson and Woolsey are All-LSC first-team performers this season, while Huth was named to the second team. Ohl and Wilt were honorable mention selections.

St. Edward's University Hilltoppers

Whitney Rhoden (Friendswood/Texas State) leads St. Edward's with 366 kills and has added 101 digs, while Courtney Trevino (Austin/Lamar University) and Ashley Vander Hey (Cypress/Cy-Fairbanks HS) have contributed 326 and 269 kills, respectively. Mary McNamara (The Woodlands) has 759 assists and Lauren Martin (Sebastopol, Cali./Alabama) 427 for the Hilltoppers' offense. Elissa Stanton (Hutto/Hutto HS) leads the Austin university with 82 digs.

Hundt was named the Heartland Conference's Co-Libero of the Year, while Rhoden and Vander Hey were both named all-conference.

Random Facts

Angelo State has won 18 of its matches in straight sets, eight in 3-1 victories and four in 3-2 decisions. The Belles have lost four of their matches in five-set affairs, while their lone 3-0 loss came last weekend in the LSC championship match against West Texas A&M. St. Edward's has 13 straight-set wins, three victories in 3-1 outcomes and are 5-0 in matches that went to five sets.

ASU is 9-0 in neutral court matches, while SEU 3-5. The Belles went 3-0 this season against Heartland Conference opponents and the Hilltoppers went 2-2 against LSC opponents. The Belles beat SEU, UTPB and Texas A&M-International. St. Edward's picked up wins over Abilene Christian and Tarleton State. The losses came against ASU and West Texas A&M.

ASU is 2-5 all-time in NCAA tournament matches with its last win coming against Air Force in 1991. The Hilltoppers are making their 49th appearance in the NCAA tournament.


Here's A Quick Look Back At The First Match Between ASU and SEU

September 9, 2011

Angelo State wins, 25-17, 25-21, 25-13

SAN ANGELO - Angelo State got off to a slow start falling behind 5-1, but quickly turned things around to even the score at five on a Hilltoppers' error. The Belles claimed the lead for good on a Chelsea Gibson kill which put them up 7-6. After that, the Belles consistently held a five-point lead as they took the first set 25-17.

St. Edward's put up a challenge in the second set as the two squads battled back and forth. The set saw nine ties and a pair of lead changes before the Belles broke a 20-20 tie. ASU then went on a 5-1 run to close out the second set by a score of 25-21.

The third frame was all ASU, as the Belles took a 6-0 advantage to start the set. Despite the Hilltoppers' efforts, they were unable to close the gap and the Belles completed the sweep with a 25-13 win.

Woolsey tallied her second double-double (34 assists, 13 digs) of the day and Valdez added a double-double of her own (11 kills, 11 digs) in the contest. Senior Celeste Bonter recorded a season-high 12 kills and hit .312 for the Belles, while Ohl notched 10 kills and added three block assists in the match. Sophomore Shelby Warick led the defense tying her season-best with 14 digs.

Whitney Rhoden and Courtney Trevino led St. Edward's offensively with nine kills each, while Mary McNamara recorded 15 assists and Lauren Martin added 10. Michelle Hundt led both squads with 17 digs on the night.

NCAA Division II South Central Region Volleyball Tournament.

Games times will be as follows:
Thursday (Session 1)

12:00 p.m.: No. 3 West Texas A&M vs. No. 6 Arkansas-Fort Smith

2:30 p.m.: No. 2 Washburn vs. No. 7 Arkansas Tech

5 p.m.: No. 4 Angelo State vs. No. 5 St. Edwards

7:30 p.m.: No. 1 Central Missouri vs. No. 8 Abilene Christian

Friday (Session 2)

5 p.m.: Semifinal 1 (West Texas A&M/Ark.-Fort Smith vs. Washburn/Ark. Tech)

7:30 p.m.: Semifinal 2 (Angelo St./St. Edwards vs. Central Missouri/Abilene Christian)

Saturday: (Session 3)

7 p.m.: Championship game (winner of semifinal games 1 and 2)