DENVER, Colo. – It's a new day with new goals to achieve for the Angelo State volleyball team.

The Belles (29-5) look to advance to the program's first NCAA Division II Volleyball Championship, but will first have to get past Lone Star Conference rival West Texas A&M (32-4) in a South Central Regional Championships Final tonight at 7 p.m. (MT) at the Regis Fieldhouse. ASU advanced to the finals with a sweep of top-seeded Regis on Friday, while WT took care of Colorado School of Mines in four sets to set up tonight's match.

ASU and WT will meet for the fourth time this season with the Lady Buffs taking two of those matches. The Belles beat WT on Oct. 26 in a 3-1 (25-17, 18-25, 25-20, 25-21) victory that snapped a 15-match losing streak. The Lady Buff took the last meeting in a five-set LSC Championship finals match at the Junell Center.

“In high stake matches you have to stay composed and play your game,” ASU head coach Chuck Waddington said. “That's the most important thing for us today. We've played really well this week and have not let anything bother us or get us away from what we've wanted to do. That has to continue.”

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The Belles have been impressive throughout the regional tournament this week and knocked Regis from the tournament by playing at a high level and utilizing their depth. Five players had double-digit digs against the Rangers for the ASU defense and Kaelen Valdez and Shelbi Goode each added 10 kills a night after Maddie Huth and Emily Booth led the team in kills. The Belle block was also strong against RU with Huth having nine blocks, Goode adding six and Booth four.

“You want to be at your best at the end of the year and that includes each player stepping up their individual games,” Waddington said. “It's been nice to see our players rise to the occasion this week and really play well.”

The Lady Buffs will be playing in their 12th regional final and enter the match on a 12-game winning streak. Lacy Hayes and Erin Dougherty, both LSC first-team selections, are continuing their strong seasons here in Denver. Hayes had 47 assists against CSM with Dougherty adding 13 kills to lead WT. Laura Iwuchukwu contributed 12 kills and Lauren Beville tallying 23 digs. Dougherty, who was named the LSC Championship MVP, recorded 17 kills the last time WT and ASU played.

“West Texas is a very disciplined team that are very good all over the court,” Waddington said. “They have skill players at every position and we're going to be at the top of our game. We'll have to serve tough and compete for every point. When the opportunities are there, we have to take advantage of them and never let up.”

ASU is now 5-6 all-time in NCAA tournament matches.

Belle Breakdown

Haley Bianco has also played in every match of her freshman season for the Belles and recorded 10 digs against Regis on Friday following four digs in Thursday's win over Adams State. She has recorded 225 digs (1.97 per set) and has added 10 aces. She was named the LSC's Defensive Player of the Week once this season and had a career-high 24 digs in the conference final.

Arielle Bond has brought energy to the ASU offensive throughout the season and has recorded 82 kills in 25 matches played as a freshman. Bond is averaging 1.61 kills per set and recorded a career-high six blocks in the tournament final and a career-high six kills against Regis earlier this season.

Emily Booth has been a dominate force for the Belles this postseason and led ASU with 15 kills on Thursday against Adams State. Booth added eight kills, four blocks and a .615 hitting percentage in the Belles' win over Regis on Friday. She entered the national tournament with 143 kills this season and had a staggering .538 hitting percentage against the Grizzlies in the quarterfinals. The senior was named to the LSC's All-Tournament team after a career-high nine blocks against the Lady Buffs and has 62 blocks this season. She also produced a career-high .423 hitting percentage in the tournament final before Thursday's performance.

Katie Coleman has been a consistent player for the Belles the last four seasons and a key contributor as a team captain during her senior year. She enters the national tournament with 110 kills this season and 37 blocks. Coleman has 449 career kills as a Belle and 130 blocks.

Chelsea Gibson returned to the court on Thursday night after being forced to the sidelines the past four weeks due to injury. She has recorded four kills, two digs and two blocks in both regional matches this week. She enters the regional tournament's final match against WT with 171 kills this season and 44 blocks. She is a three-time LSC first-team selection and earned an Honorable Mention selection this season after missing the final three weeks of the season with an injury. The senior captain has 1,096 kills in her career and 309 blocks. Gibson ranks seventh all-time in ASU history in blocks and is eighth all-time in career kills. She also has 222 digs and 76 assists.

Shelbi Goode has made an immediate impact during her first season in an ASU uniform. The junior transfer from the University of Alabama leads the Belles with 433 kills this season and was first in the LSC with a 3.78 kills per set average. Goode, who had 10 kills on Friday night against Regis, was named to the AVCA All-South Central team last week after also earning the LSC's Newcomer of the Year award and being named to the conference's first team. She was also a two-time Offensive Player of the Week for the conference and was named to the Daktronic All-South Central second-team on Monday.

Maddie Huth continued her dominant season on Friday with a career high nine blocks and nine kills against Regis following 13 kills and a .565 hitting percentage against Adams State. She leads the Angelo State attack with a .355 hitting percentage and is also tops with 135 blocks (23 solo, 104 assists). She is second on the team with 370 kills this season and has added 130 digs. Huth has 740 kills in her career and ranks eighth all-time at Angelo State with 267 career blocks. She earned recognition as an AVCA All-South Central performer along with being named to the LSC's first-team and was chosen twice as its Offensive Player of the Week honor. Huth record a career-high 23 in the Belles' tournament final match against West Texas A&M and had a previous career-high eight blocks in the semifinals against Texas Woman's.

Katie MacLeay is off to a great start to her Angelo State career after a freshman season in which she played in all 32 matches. She had 10 digs against Regis and eight digs on Thursday against Adams State. MacLeay is third on the team after recording 356 digs this season and also added 18 aces.

Leah McWilliams has provided a spark to the Belles throughout the season and had a career match in the LSC quarterfinals against Texas Woman's. McWilliams, who started her career at Alaska-Anchorage and then redshirted last season, has 61 kills this season for the Belles and six blocks. She recorded a career-high 14 kills against TWU in the conference tournament and had four kills on Thursday against Adams State.

Kailyn Troxell has played in 12 matches as a freshman and has recorded 10 kills, 11 blocks and four digs. She had a career-high three kills in matches against Southwest Oklahoma and Colorado School of Mines in early-season tournaments.

Kaelen Valdez had 10 kills and 15 digs in the Belles' win over Regis on Friday following seven digs on Thursday in the Belles' win over Adams State following the production of a great all-around season for the Belles. Valdez has recorded 282 kills this season (2.46 per set) and 426 digs in her junior season. She has 1,121 digs in her three-year career and ranks 15th all-time in ASU history with 842 career kills as a Belle. Valdez was named to the LSC second-team this season. Her single-match high in kills came this season with 25 in the Belles' match at Texas A&M-Commerce.

Shelby Wilt had a team-high 21 digs in ASU's victory over Regis on Friday night following eight digs and three assists in Angelo State's win over Adams State on Thursday. The Belles were among the nation's elite in defense throughout the season in large part to Wilt's consistent play. She led the Belles for the second straight season in digs and enters Friday's match with 637 digs this year. Wilt was an AVCA All-South Central Honorable Mention selection to go along with being named the LSC's Libero of the Year and to its first-team. She was also a four-time LSC Defensive Player of the Week and is eighth all-time in ASU history with 1,222 digs through her first 71 matches played in her career. Wilt was named to the Daktronic All-South Central second-team on Monday.

Alex Woolsey is playing in the national tournament after a record-breaking season and an award-gathering postseason. The senior had 37 assists and 10 digs in ASU's win over Regis following 42 assists in the win over Adams State on Thursday. She holds the all-time ASU career record with 5,128 assists and has 1,437 this season. She entered the regional tournament third in the nation with 12.12 assists per set and has already been named to the AVCA All-South Central team along with being named the LSC Setter of the Year, to the LSC first-team, to the LSC All-Tournament team and she was a four-time LSC Setter of the Week selection. Woolsey also has 334 digs this season and ranks fifth all-time in ASU history with 1,246 digs in her career.