SAN ANGELO – The No. 7-ranked Angelo State volleyball team returns to the road this weekend with matches at Incarnate Word and Texas A&M-Kingsville after securing two Lone Star Conference wins last weekend.

The Belles (8-2, 2-0 LSC) start the weekend with a non-conference match at 6 p.m. against UIW (5-4, 1-2 Southland) at the McDermott Convocation Center before returning to LSC play at 1 p.m. on Saturday against the Javelinas (7-6, 1-1 LSC) at Hampton Inn Court. The Cardinals are coming off a 3-1 win over Nicholls State on Thursday.

ASU is ranked seventh in the nation through three weeks of the season – the highest ranking in program history. The Belles are 2-2 on the road this season with wins over then No. 3 Nebraska-Kearney and Metro State at the Colorado Premier Challenge in Denver. ASU's losses came against No. 2 Concordia-St. Paul and No. 9 Southwest Minnesota State in gold bracket matches at the tournament.

The Belles are coming off a five-set win over Midwestern State last Friday and a sweep of Cameron last Saturday. Click for Belle Notes
 

BELLE PLAYER SUMMARIES

Arielle Bond is coming off a career weekend where she had 24 kills against Midwestern State and 10 kills against Cameron. Bond, a sophomore outside hitter from El Paso, earned her first LSC Offensive Player of the Week honor on Tuesday and comes into this weekend with a team-leading 106 kills for the Belles. She has also contributed 14 blocks and has a .264 hitting percentage.

Maggi Jo Keffury was named the LSC Setter of the Week for the second consecutive week after a 54-assist performance against MSU and adding 37 in a three-set win over Cameron. Keffury, a junior transfer from New Mexico State, has 371 assists this season (10.91 per set) and also 80 digs for the Belles. ASU has an attacking percentage of .213 with Keffury running the show at setter this season.

Maddie Huth has played at the same all-American level she did last season throughout this season and has 102 kills (2.83 per set) and a team-leading 38 blocks through the first 10 matches of the season. Huth, a senior middle blocker from The Colony, enters the weekend with 859 career kills and 310 career blocks. She is currently tied with former Belle Chelsea Gibson for eighth in program history in blocks and is 16th in kills. Teammate Kaelen Valdez is 15th all-time in kills with 868 in her career and is seventh with 1,241 digs in her career. Valdez has 111 digs this season and 20 kills.

Shelby Wilt, a junior from Dalhart, continues to lead the ASU defense and has 147 digs (3.97 per set) this season. The reigning LSC Libero of the Year and the conference's Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, Wilt has 1,381 digs in her career which ranks her third in program history. She is currently behind Shelby Pitcock (1,562 digs) and Jennifer Glass's program record of 1,603 digs.

Defensively, Katie MacLeay and Haley Bianco are providing consistent contributions to the Belles this season. MacLeay is second on the team with 114 digs (3.08 per set) with Bianco adding 70 digs (2.06 per set) in their sophomore seasons.

Leah McWilliams, a senior co-captain from Marfa, has added 97 kills (2.85 per set) and is coming off a career-high 16 kills last Saturday against Cameron. McWilliams also has nine blocks and fifth with 79 digs. Freshman Courtney Bartusiak did not play last weekend because of injury but has 53 kills and 18 blocks in 25 sets played this season. Cerbi Ritchey, a redshirt freshman from Big Spring, has 43 kills and 16 blocks with sophomore Kailyn Troxell adding 20 kills and freshman Zoey Hanrahan contributing 11 kills and three blocks.

Belle Single-Match Highs
Blocks: 8 (2- 6) Maddie Huth vs. Southwest Minn. St. (Sep 14, 2013 in Denver, CO)
Attacking Percentage: .667 (13- 1-18) Courtney Bartusiak vs. CSU-Pueblo (Sep 06, 2013)
Kills 3-Set: 16 (16- 3-34) Leah McWilliams vs. Cameron (Sep 21, 2013)
Kills 4-Set: 15 (15- 7-34) Arielle Bond vs. Nebraska-Kearney (Sep 13, 2013 in Denver, CO)
Kills 5-Set: 24 (24- 5-55) Arielle Bond vs. Midwestern State (Sep 20, 2013)
Assists: 54 (5s) Maggi Jo Keffury vs. Midwestern State (Sep 20, 2013)
Digs: 24 (5s) Katie MacLeay vs. Midwestern State (Sep 20, 2013)
Aces: 3 Shelby Wilt vs. Colorado Mesa (Sep 07, 2013)
 

COACH QUOTES

Head coach Chuck Waddington (Sixth season at Angelo State, 126-54 record)

On the Belles' match against Incarnate Word on Friday in San Antonio:
"I expect them to be an exceedingly scrappy team like they always are. They keep a ton of balls in play and make you earn your points. If you're high-error, you're probably going to lose to them. We have to take control of our side of the net and work hard to score against them."

On the Belles' match against Texas A&M-Kingsville on Saturday in Kingsville:
"Their gym is a tough place to play in. Every time we go down there it seems like we struggle to play consistently. We're going to have to work hard to play our game in that place. It's going to be extremely important for us to remain focused in the match. It is a scary match for us if we don't come out and play like we should."

On the areas of emphasis the Belles' are focused on in practice leading into the matches:
"We're working on our transition game this week and defending. We have to continue developing our ability to handle the ball and serving tough. For us to do what we want to do this season, we have to get better in those areas of the game."

On the Belles' mindset being ranked No. 7 in the country and the defending conference champions:
"They have to understand that every team is going to bring their best when they're playing us. From the top to the bottom of the conference, we're going to see the best effort from the opponents. We have to be ready for that mentally and physically. It's a grind with a long ways to go. We have to understand that and be prepared for it every time we step on the court for a match."

 
Angelo State vs. Incarnate Word Cardinals

Lone Star Conference opponents the last three seasons, the Belles will meet the Incarnate Word Cardinals twice this season as non-conference, non-division opponents after UIW exited to Division I and the Southland Conference. The Cardinals enter the match with a 5-4 record following a 3-1 win over Nicholls State on Thursday after losses last weekend against Oral Roberts and Central Arkansas. UIW also has a five-set win over Texas Tech on its resume. Angelique Vidaurri leads the team with 91 kills this season (3.14 per set) with Brittani Dear leading in the digs category with 97 (3.34 per set). Danielle Suarez has 160 assists and Taylor McClelland 131 for the Cardinals. As a team, UIW is hitting .203 this season with 159 attacking errors.

High school connections between Angelo State and UIW include; Kaelen Valdez and Sarah Cardenas, Meaghan Patterson, Kristin Fording, Elizabeth Soukup (San Antonio O'Connor).

ASU enjoys a 14-5 all-time record over the Cardinals, including earning three sweeps last season including an opening-round win at the LSC Championship at the Junell Center. UIW finished last season with a 10-21 record and a 7-13 mark in the conference. Both matches against UIW will come within LSC conference play and will count towards ASU's overall record.
 
Angelo State vs. Texas A&M-Kingsville Javelinas

The Javelinas enter this weekend with a 7-6 overall record following a sweep of Texas A&M-International on Tuesday night in Kingsville. Texas A&M-Kingsville is 1-1 this season in LSC play with a three-set win over Eastern New Mexico and a three-set loss to No. 12 West Texas A&M. Dedra Brown, a senior from Sweetwarter, and Kelsey Washington, a junior from Cuero, lead the team with 128 and 120 kills, respectively, while Sarah Fountain has 454 assists (10.09 per set) and Stephanie Johns has 35 blocks. Washington leads the team with 142 digs with Brittany Gutierrez adding 121 digs. Brown and Washington were both LSC second-team selections last season.

High school connections between Angelo State and Texas A&M-Kingsville include: Zoey Hanrahan and Mariah Catlin (Pflugerville Hendrickson), Kaelen Valdez and Alexia Bustamante (San Antonio O'Connor), Katie MacLeay and Brittany Gutierrez (San Antonio Brandeis).

The Belles have won their last sixth matches over Texas A&M-Kingsville dating back to the 2008 season. The Javelinas advanced to the LSC tournament last season after going 9-11 in conference play and finished their season with a 17-14 overall record. Tanya Allen is entering her third season as the head coach in Kingsville. ASU holds a 51-10 all-time advantage in the historical series.
 
UP NEXT
Following this weekend's road trip, the Belles will return home to face Eastern New Mexico and West Texas A&M. ASU will host ENMU at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 4 and then WT at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 5.