Post by Angelo Sports.

SAN ANGELO – The Angelo State volleyball team carries an eight-match winning streak into a pair of Lone Star Conference road matches at Eastern New Mexico (5-5, 1-2 LSC) and perennial rival West Texas A&M (10-3, 3-0 LSC) this weekend.

The Belles (9-1, 4-0 LSC) are 4-0 away from San Angelo this season entering this weekend and did not play a midweek contest after earning a sweep of Texas A&M-Kingsville last Saturday at the Junell Center. ASU opens the weekend with a 7:30 p.m. (CST) match against the Zias on Friday before returning to Texas to play the Lady Buffs at 2 p.m. on Saturday.

ASU and WT have played in the past four LSC Championship finals against each other and the past two NCAA Division II South Central Championship finals. The Lady Buffs, who are coming off a Tuesday night sweep of Cameron have won each of those tournament finals. ASU will be looking for its first win in Canyon since a Kathleen Brasfield led team earned a five-set win during the 1993 season – a string of 23 straight losses which includes postseason play.

The Belles, whose lone loss of the season came in a five-set (21-25, 25-12, 25-19, 19-25, 13-15) defeat to Arkansas-Fort Smith, will return home from their road trip this weekend to host Texas A&M-Commerce at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at the Junell Center before travelling to Stephenville next weekend to play Tarleton State on Friday, Oct. 3 and then Newman in a non-conference match on Saturday, Oct. 4 at Wisdom Gym.
 
Quotes  ||  Chuck Waddington, Angelo State head coach
On playing at Eastern New Mexico and West Texas A&M this weekend:
"We didn't have a midweek match this week so we're itching to get back on the court to play. It's a chance for us to keep ourselves on top of the conference and establish ourselves as the team to beat this season. Hopefully we'll be ready for the challenges on the road and can keep the momentum we have going right now."
 
On playing Eastern New Mexico on Friday in Portales, New Mexico:
"They are coming off a good five-set win over Midwestern. They should they are resilient by coming back from a 2-1 deficit. They are a physical team at the net with some big players who are good attackers. We have to know where their attackers are coming from throughout the match."
 
On playing at West Texas A&M on Saturday in Canyon:
"WT seems to be getting better and better with every match it plays. There stats are improving and they'll be ready to compete against us. It is very important for us right now to stay focused on Friday's match at ENMU, but we also have to be prepared to work our tails off on Saturday against West Texas A&M. It is always a tough place to play at but it's also always a lot of fun to play in that environment against them."
 
Belle Roster Report
Alexa Johnson has been a steady hand for the ASU volleyball team this season from the setter position and has 430 assists coming into this weekend's action. Johnson, a sophomore transfer from Lamar University, leads the Lone Star Conference with 11.62 assists per set and was named the LSC Setter of the Week after the first weekend of play. Johnson has also contributed 78 digs (2.11 per set) for the defense and has 27 kills on the attack.

Shelby Wilt continues to be the defensive leader for the Belles and is third in the LSC with 5.30 digs per set this season. A senior from Dalhart, Wilt has 196  digs through the first 10 games of this season and 2,058 in her record-setting career at Angelo State. She also has 313 career assists and 110 service aces since her arrival in San Angelo. The defense is also being steadied by Katie MacLeay who has 117 digs (3.16 per set), Kelly Hasbrouck (104 digs, 3.06 per set) and Haley Bianco (67 digs, 2.39 per set). Hasbrouck, who is a freshman from New Braunfels, recorded a career-high 20 digs in the LSC opener against TWU while Bianco is coming off a nine-dig performance against the Javelinas. MacLeay comes into this weekend with 899 career digs after providing 11 digs against TAMUK in her sixth double-digit dig performance of the season.

On the block, sophomore Zoey Hanrahan leads the way with 26 blocks and freshman Daeleigh Castile has added 25. Hanrahan has also contributed 62 kills (1.77 per set) and Castile has 51 kills with a .258 hitting percentage which ranks sixth in the LSC. Castile is second in the LSC this season with 0.42 service aces per set. Mallory Blauser, who leads the team with 137 kills (3.89 per set) has added 13 blocks and freshman Abbie Lynn has provided 15 blocks and is second on the team with 107 kills (3.24 per set). Lynn was named the LSC Offensive Player of the Week in the second week of the season after her performance against TWU, Cameron, MSU and Harding. The offensive attack is also being bolstered by Arielle Bond's 77 kills (2.48 per set) and sophomore Cerbi Ritchey who has 35 kills (1.75 per set) and is coming off a 12-kill performance at UTPB and nine kills against Kingsville.

Blauser has recorded seven double-digit kill performances this season and is currently fourth in the conference in total kills. Lynn is sixth in the LSC in kills and Bond is 17th.
 
Eastern New Mexico Zias
Second Matchup: Saturday, Nov. 1 @ 2 p.m. /  Junell Center/Stephens Arena
Angelo State owns an 11-match winning streak against ENMU, a string of victories which extends back to a five-set loss on Oct. 8, 2005. The Belles swept both matchups in the 2013 season.

Lauren Frye leads ENMU with 128 kills (3.28 per set) with Lindsey Barron and Courtney Lawson at 66 kills each. Barron has done her damage in only eight matches this season and has 2.06 kills pet set and has also provided 13 blocks. Frye leads the team with 30 blocks this season and Lindsay Bost leads the team with 152 digs (4.00 per set). ENMU is hitting .174 as a team and owns an 85-67 block advantage.

ENMU is coming off a season where it went 8-20 overall and was 4-12 in Lone Star Conference play. The Zias fell in straight sets to West Texas A&M in the first round of the LSC tournament to end their season on a three-match losing streak. Sia Poyer is in his second season as ENMU's head coach after an eight-year career as the head coach at Valdosta State. Angelo State owns a 41-19 all-time record over ENMU in volleyball action.
 
West Texas A&M Lady Buffs
Second Matchup: Friday, Oct. 31 @ 7 p.m. /  Junell Center/Stephens Arena

Quickly solidifying itself as one of the best rivalries throughout Division II volleyball, the Belles and West Texas A&M have played each other in the South Central Championship finals the past two seasons and the LSC Championship finals the past four seasons.

Lauren Bevan leads WT this season with 173 kills and tops the LSC with 4.12 kills per set, while Kameryn Hayes has 116 kills and is 10th in the conference with 2.70 per set. Hayes leads the conference with a .357 hitting percentage and has 296 assists for the team. Lauren Britten leads WT with 199 digs (4.63 per set) this season and Leah Mayer leads the block with 44 (1.10 per set).

WT, which is on a two-match winning streak after falling to Truman State last weekend, has maintained control over the rivalry with wins in each of the championship matches and own a 54-16 all-time advantage over the Belles. The Lady Buffs won all four of the matches against the Belles in the 2013 season, including a five-set thriller in the conference finals and a four-set battle in the regional finals. ASU's 2013 season came to an end in Canyon with the fourth loss. The Lady Buffs advanced to their second straight NCAA DII Championships where their season ended with a five-set loss to BYU-Hawaii after knocking off LIU-Post in the first round. WT finished its season with a 35-4 overall record, including going 16-0 in Lone Star Conference play. Jason Skoch is in his sixth season with the Lady Buffs as their head coach and has won three of the past four LSC Coach of the Year awards with Waddington taking the 2012 LSC Coach of the Year after leading the Belles to the conference title that season.