CANYON – Angelo State and West Texas A&M will meet in the Lone Star Conference Volleyball Championship finals for the fourth consecutive season at 2 p.m. on Saturday at the WTAMU Fieldhouse after both teams advanced in five-set semifinal thrillers on Friday.

The Belles (23-8) secured the program's 11th finals appearance by defeating Texas Woman's, while WT (30-3) won its 24th consecutive match by topping Texas A&M-Commerce  and securing its 16th finals appearance. The Lady Buffs have won the past seven LSC Championship titles and possess 14 tournament trophies in their program's history.

"I wouldn't have it any other way," ASU head coach Chuck Waddington said. "To beat the best, you have to beat the best. We're looking forward to the opportunity to play them on their home court and in front of their fans. It should be a great match."

Angelo State seniors Maddie Huth and Kaelen Valdez have played in the past three finals, while junior libero Shelby Wilt has competed in the past two. WT has won the title over the Belles each time, including taking a five-set decision last season at the Junell Center. Those experiences hurt, but could also be used on Saturday for the benefit of the Belles who could win the first LSC tournament title for ASU since 1992.

"For me, having played in the finals three times, it's important to show leadership for our younger players," said Huth, who has been named to the all-tournament team the past two seasons. "We have to confidence and take this game. In "The Box", it takes heart. You can tell that WT always plays with heart, but we have to play with more. Every point has to be played with heart and intensity."

"It's going to be a game where whoever digs down deep and plays with the most heart is going to win," Wilt said. "You can't let any points off because that can lead to momentum for them. They have the home court advantage that we have to overcome. We have to figure out their weaknesses that day and drill at them."

Huth comes into the match with 363 kills (3.16 per set) this season, including 16 on Friday against TWU. Valdez had 12 kills in the win over TWU and now has 1,004 in her career along with 1,543 digs. She led the Belles with 22 digs in the semifinal win, while Wilt has 1,779 career digs after a 13-dig performance against the Pioneers.

Maggi Jo Keffury, who was named to the LSC first-team along with Huth before the start of the tournament, established a career-high with 58 assists on Friday and has 1,266 assists this season. Cerbi Ritchey had 16 kills in the semifinal win, while Arielle Bond now has 332 kills this season after having 11 against TWU. ASU's defense continues its strong play and received strong matches from Haley Bianco (17 digs) and Katie MacLeay (9 digs) on Friday. Bianco now has 331 digs this season with MacLeay at 367 digs. MacLeay leads the team with 31 aces, while Wilt has 30 aces and Keffury has 38.

West Texas A&M leads the LSC with a .248 team hitting percentage and have limited opponents to a conference-best .116 percentage. WT is averaging 2.91 blocks per set with LSC Defensive Player of the Year, Laura Iwuchukw, leading the way with 190 blocks (1.67 per set). Iwuchuku established a career-high on Friday with 21 kills against A&M-Commerce and has 289 kills this season. Her .343 hitting percentage is only behind teammate Lexi Davis (.345) for the conference lead. Davis has 254 kills this season with Halie Harton at 321 kills (2.81 per set) and Lauren Bevan at 317 kills (2.81 per set). Kameryn Hayes orchestrates the WT offense from the setter position and has 1,095 assists (9.61 per set) this season.

Davis also has 117 blocks and Lauren Britten leads WT with 479 digs. WT won both meetings this season against the Belles who are 34-11 all-time in LSC tournament play.

"Their ball control and defense is very good," Waddington said. "They don't make many mistakes. We will have to play clean volleyball to beat them."

The winner of the tournament will receive an automatic bid for the NCAA Division II tournament which is scheduled to be played from Dec. 5-7.