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SAN ANTONIO – Kaelen Valdez recorded a season-high 15 kills and added 12 digs to help lead the No. 7-ranked Angelo State volleyball team to a 3-1 (25-17, 14-25, 25-21, 25-23) non-conference win over Incarnate Word on Friday at the McDermott Convocation Center.

The Belles (9-2) were challenged throughout the night against their former Lone Star Conference rivals and earned their first win over an NCAA Division I opponent this season. UIW evens its record at 5-5 with the loss.

"One of the things I love about playing Incarnate Word is that they always play with a ton of intensity," ASU head coach Chuck Waddington said. "If you can't match their intensity, you're not going to win. I'm really proud of our team that we were able to step up to a higher level and match them for the win. It was a great response from our team to outwork a team that put in a lot of effort."

The match featured 26 tied scores, including 14 in the third set which the Belles went on a 6-2 run to close out after the score was tied at 19.

Valdez also had a season-high .371 hitting percentage and now has 883 kills in her career. Key points came in the third set when she had two consecutive kills to give ASU a 21-19 advantage in another close set. Valdez had also closed out the first set with back-to-back kills.

"She was extremely crafty tonight for us," said Waddington of Valdez. "She wasn't swinging really hard but she was smart and kept them off balance. I challenged her between sets two and three and I'm really proud to see her step up and play so well."

Maddie Huth added 12 kills and six blocks, while freshman Courtney Bartusiak had 10 kills and a team leading .714 hitting percentage on 15 attacks. Maggi Jo Keffury added 42 assists and orchestrated an offense from the setter position which hit .216 on the night. Cerbi Ritchey added four blocks and five kills.

Shelby Wilt and Keffury led the Belles with 13 digs each, while Haley Bianco and Katie MacLeay had 11 digs each. The Belles finished the night with eight blocks – four fewer than UIW – but combated that stat with 66 digs. ASU hit 80 percent in the third set to respond to an 11-point loss in the second set where it was limited to a .054 hitting percentage in the second set.

Shaina Garza and Angelique Vidaurri led UIW with 16 kills each, while Brittani Dear had 17 digs and Sarah Cardenas added 15 digs. The Cardinals, who were coming off a Thursday night win over Nicholls State for their first Southland Conference win, were limited to a .211 hitting percentage against the Belles.

Angelo State returns to action at 1 p.m. on Saturday at Texas A&M-Kingsville (7-7, 1-2 LSC). The Javelinas are coming off a four-set loss to Tarleton State on Friday in Kingsville.

"We have to keep this mindset that we have right now where we are fighting for every point," Waddington said. "If we do that then we are going to beat a lot of team. I hope we see this same effort tomorrow in Kingsville."