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Arielle Bond returns for her junior season after contributing 391 kills and 51 blocksas a sophomore last season for the Belles. She was named to the LSC second team." alt="12440" src="/common/controls/image_handler.aspx?thumb_id=14&image_path=/images/2014/9/4/DM5_0170.jpg" />

SAN ANGELO – The No. 19 ranked Angelo State volleyball team opens its season this weekend with four matches at the ASU Kathleen Brasfield Invitational at the Junell Center before beginning Lone Star Conference play on Tuesday against Texas Woman's.

The Belles take on Missouri Southern at noon and Arkansas Fort Smith at 6 p.m. on Friday in their season openers before playing Arkansas-Monticello at noon and Western New Mexico at 6 p.m. on Saturday. Each of ASU's matches will be played on the Stephens Arena court. The matches against Arkansas Fort Smith and Western New Mexico are in-region contests.

Angelo State enters the season ranked No. 19 in the nation by the AVCA and has now been ranked in 71 AVCA polls in program history and in 38 straight AVCA Coaches Top 25 Polls. ASU started its consecutive streak by entering the polls on Sept. 12, 2011 at No. 20 and have not exited the polls since. The Belles have been ranked as high as No. 9 on Nov. 5, 2012 and finished last season ranked No. 18.

The Belles, who went 13-1 at home last season, bring an 11-match non-conference winning streak into the tournament. The last home loss to a non-conference opponent was on Sept. 11, 2010 against Colorado School of Mines. ASU's roster has eight returners and eight newcomers who will be playing in their first matches in a Belle uniform this weekend.

Angelo State has advanced to the past three NCAA Division II South Central Championship tournaments which is a first in the program's history. The Belles have advanced to the finals of the regional tournament the past two seasons, which is also a first for the program.

The tournament is named for former Angelo State volleyball coach and athletic director Kathleen Brasfield who led the ASU volleyball program from 1978-2004. Brasfield accumulated 647 wins on the sidelines and won seven conference championships. She was inducted into the ASU Hall of Honor in January and was named the lone inductee into the Lone Star Conference's 2014 Hall of Honor class last month.   

The Belles will start conference play at 7 p.m. on Tuesday against Texas Woman's at the Junell Center and will then play their next four matches on the road.
 
Quotes



Mallory Blauser  ||  Sophomore  ||  Outside Hitter  ||  Round Rock, Texas
"I'm really excited to get out there on the court as a team and play against other teams. We push ourselves in practice a lot, but getting out there and competing is what we've all been working so hard for. I'm ready to see how our practices translate to matches and how we react to situations as a team. We're just going to concentrate on ourselves and take care of our side of the net."
 
Arielle Bond  ||  Junior  ||  Outside Hitter  ||  El Paso, Texas
"We've been working a lot on our setter-hitter connections. I think we've improved a lot in that area and I'm looking forward to seeing how we do in a match. We have a good team set up. We just need to play our game regardless of the competition and continue playing at a high level."
 
ANGELO STATE INVITATIONAL
The Belles will open their season by hosting the Angelo State Invitational on Friday and Saturday at the Junell Center. The round-robin tournament will feature ASU, Arkansas Fort Smith, Tarleton State, Western New Mexico, Missouri Southern and Arkansas-Monticello. The only team the Belles will not play during the season-opening weekend is conference foe Tarleton State. Each day of the tournament will feature six matches with four being played on the Stephens Arena court and two in the Junell Center's auxiliary gym. Each of ASU's four matches will be played on the Stephens Arena court.
 
Missouri Southern Lions
Friday, Sept. 6 @ 12 p.m.  //  Junell Center/Stephens Arena
Angelo State's 2014 season opener will see the Belles take on Missouri Southern. ASU owns a 22-16 all-time record in season-opening matches and have won its last three contests to begin a season. The all-time series between Missouri Southern and ASU is tied 3-3 with the Belles sweeping the most recent match on Oct. 4, 2008 in a match played in Pittsburg, Kansas. The Lions come into the season under new leadership after Jared Bruggeman was hired as their new head coach in January. He inherits a program which is coming off a 4-26 record in the 2013 season. The Lions ended the year on a 13-game losing streak and went 0-16 in MIAA play. MSU will also play Arkansas-Monticello on Friday before opening Saturday's action against Tarleton State. They are the only MIAA team on Angelo State's 2014 regular-season schedule.
 
Arkansas Fort Smith Lions
Friday, Sept. 6 @ 6 p.m. //  Junell Center/Stephens Arena
Another group of Lions await the Belles in their second match of opening day with Arkansas Fort Smith looking to avenge a tough five-set loss to ASU in last year's tournament. The Belles were down last year 2-1 to UAFS before rallying to take the final two sets, including the fifth set 15-9. Last year's match was the first meeting between the two programs. UAFS went on to record a 22-9 overall record and a 16-2 Heartland Conference mark. The Lions saw their season end with a five-set loss to Dallas Baptist in the Heartland Conference Tournament and were not rewarded an at-large bid to the NCAA South Central Championships. UAFS went 2-2 last season at the ASU Invitational with wins over Tarleton State and Colorado State-Pueblo and losses to ASU and Colorado Mesa. Jane Sargent is entering her 17th season leading the UAFS program as its head coach.    

Arkansas-Monticello Cotton Blossoms
Saturday, Sept. 6 @ 12 p.m. //  Junell Center/Stephens Arena
Angelo State will meet Arkansas-Monticello on the volleyball court for the first time in history on the second day of the ASU Invitational. UAM is coming off a 12-20 overall record in 2013 and went 2-13 in Great American Conference play. The Blossoms are the only GAC team on ASU's regular-season schedule. UAM, which did not face an LSC opponent in 2013, finished last season on a seven-match losing streak and will open its 2014 season with matches against Western New Mexico and Missouri Southern on Friday. Peter Cruz is entering his second season as the head coach at UAM.
 
Western New Mexico Mustangs
Saturday, Sept. 6 @ 6 p.m. //  Junell Center/Stephens Arena
A matchup between two NCAA DII South Central Championship teams from last season will wrap up the ASU Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 6 with the Belles taking on the Mustangs of Western New Mexico. The Belles will look to even the all-time series record with a win in the sixth meeting all-time. WNMU leads the all-time series 3-2 with the last meeting coming with the Belles taking a five-set win on Sept. 4, 2009 in Abilene. The Mustangs are coming off a 23-7 overall record in the 2013 season where they also went 15-4 in RMAC play. NMHU is the only RMAC opponent on ASU's regular-season schedule. The Mustangs earned an at-large bid to last year's regional tournament before seeing their season end with a straight-sets loss to Colorado School of Mines in the opening round of the tournament being played in Canyon. Jim Callender is entering his 18th season as the head coach at Western New Mexico as the program's head coach.
 
Roster Report
Angelo State's all-time leader with 1,862 digs, Shelby Wilt enters the 2014 season as the lone senior on the Belle roster and with the distinction of being named the LSC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight season. Wilt, a 5-foot-7 captain from Dalhart, has earned all-region and all-conference honors the past two seasons and is coming off a 628 dig season. She provided 4.72 digs per set as a junior and also led the Belles with 35 service aces. She comes into her final season at ASU with 102 aces. A versatile player, Wilt has also provided 293 assists for the Belles in her career and has the ability to move from libero to setter when needed.

"Shelby is one of the best defensive players in the country and can do a lot of great things on the volleyball court," Waddington said. "She can set for us and consistently plays strong defense. I want her to come in this season and lead this team. She's the type of kid who is willing to do anything she can to help her team win. We just need Shelby to continue being the player she's been for our program the past three years and I know she's put in the work to be that leader for us again this season. She makes everyone around her better and will make my job easy because she's the type of person and player who motivates her teammates by the way she approaches every day."

The Belles will look for kills from the duo of Cerbi Ritchey and Arielle Bond who are both coming off strong seasons at the outside hitter position. Bond, a 6-foot-1 junior out of El Paso, is coming off a 391 kill season as a sophomore and enters this year with 473 career kills at Angelo State. Bond, who was an LSC second-team and NCAA DII South Central All-Tournament Team selection last season, established a career-high with 24 kills in a five-set win over Midwestern State and had two six-block performances as a sophomore. Ritchey, a 6-0 sophomore from Big Spring, put down 223 kills in her first season of play last year. A redshirt her first year in San Angelo, Ritchey quickly established herself as a force and finished the season with 51 blocks. She had her best match of the season in the postseason, providing 16 kills in a five-set win over Texas Woman's in the LSC Championships. She also provided two four-block performances.

"Arielle and Cerbi have a lot of good experience for us after last season and are great pin players," Waddington said. "They played almost every match together last season and did a great job when they were on the court. We really need them to be terminal for us and put the ball away when they have opportunities. They know our league, how hard it is to score and they have the ability to be premiere players for us this season."

Angelo State junior Arielle Bond returns as the leading kill-provider on the ASU roster after supplying 391 kills as a sophomore last season for the Belles.Katie MacLeay and Haley Bianco helped make Angelo State one of the strongest defensive teams in the region last season and both enter their junior seasons. MacLeay, a 5-foot-8 defensive specialist from San Antonio, comes into her third collegiate season with 782 digs after providing 416 digs as a sophomore. She established a career-high with 24 digs in a five-set win over Midwestern State and also provided 37 service aces. Bianco, a 5-foot-6 defensive specialist from Austin, has supplied 620 digs in her first two seasons and is coming off a sophomore season where she had 385 digs (2.96 per set). Bianco had a career night against Texas-Permian Basin last season, providing 29 digs and also putting down six kills. Bianco and MacLeay have both played in all 70 matches ASU has competed in since their arrival in San Angelo.  

"They were both integral to our success last season and we'll need them to be again this season," Waddington said. "Haley and Katie both played really strong defense for us and gave us a chance to win points and matches on a consistent basis. They'll be pushed by some of the new players we're bringing in, but they have two full years of experience and have really helped our program reach the heights it is at right now. They're experienced players who are working hard to continue getting better and give us steady ball control."

Depth will also be bolstered by the return of Kailyn Troxell, Zoey Hanrahan and Klohe Harrion. Troxell, a 5-foot-8 middle blocker from Pampa, has played in 38 matches in her two seasons at ASU and enters her third season with 57 kills. She provided seven kills last season in a sweep of Metro State at the Colorado Premier Challenge and had five blocks against Colorado School of Mines. Hanrahan, a 5-foot-11 middle blocker from Pflugerville, played in 21 matches during the 2013 season and finished the year with 39 kills and a .245 hitting percentage.  She played her strongest match of the season against Midwestern State where she had six kills and two blocks. Harrion, a 5-foot-11 middle blocker from Gilbert, Arizona, saw action in eight matches in her first season at ASU.

"Zoey and Klohe are both really talented players who got a great opportunity in the spring to continue developing their games," Waddington said. "They were efficient and were scoring for us at a high rate in the spring. Kailyn is in that mix too. They have been around the program, have experienced the success and they'll have opportunities to help us this season. They are all talented players and are eager to prove themselves on the court."

Along with Hanrahan and Harrion, the Belles have added sophomores Mallory Blauser and Alexa Johnson to their roster for this season. Blauser, a 6-1 outside hitter from Round Rock, played last season at the University of Cincinnati where she had 95 kills, including a 15-kill performance against Temple. Johnson, a 5-foot-11 setter from La Vista, Nebraska, played her freshman season at Lamar University where she led the team with 745 assists.  

"I hope they're coming in wanting to make an immediate impact," Waddington said. "No one on this team is just going to be given a spot and every player will have to earn their role. Mallory is a very talented player that we're all excited about and Alexa has the talent as a setter to help raise the bar for us. They both have Division I experience and will have opportunities to earn spots and become impactful players right away."

The incoming six-player freshman class includes Kelly Hasbrouck (New Braunfels), Brooke Robertson (Argyle), Kylie Rollman (Columbus, Nebraska), Abbie Lynn (Amarillo), Brianna Sotello (San Antonio) and Daeleigh Castile (Gilbert, Arizona). Rollman and Lynn will play at right-side hitter, while Sotello is positioned as an outside hitter and Castile at middle blocker. Robertson can play at outside hitter and defensive specialist, while Hasbrouck is a combo player at setter and defensive specialist. Lynn and Rollman will be the only two left-handed players on ASU's roster this season.

"We will need the freshman class to come in ready to compete," Waddington said. "There is not a single freshman that we do not have a lot of confidence in. They can each push for playing time right away and are players who can help us win this season. We don't recruit players to come sit on the bench. We want them to push for spots and fight to keep it. That's the culture we have here and that's the expectation for this talented group we have coming in."

Waddington, who is entering his seventh season at ASU, has a 143-62 record entering the 2014 and was named the 2012 LSC Coach of the Year and head led the program to the NCAA tournament three straight seasons for the first time in history. Waddington is assisted by Brett Sikora who is entering his first season with the Belles after coaching at Hendrix last season and taking over for Qi Wang who was named the head coach at Cameron. Former ASU volleyball player Chelsea Gibson returns for her second season as the team's graduate assistant. Gibson ranks eighth in program history with 1,097 kills and is seventh with 310 blocks.