SAN ANGELO – Angelo State volleyball won its third straight match with a sweep of Texas A&M – Commerce (25-8, 25-18, 25-21) in its annual "Dig Pink" match.
In front of 1264 at the Junell Center, the Belles improved to 18-4 overall and 7-1 in the Lone Star Conference. Friday night's sweep was the third consecutive sweep for ASU and its 12th on the season. With the loss, the Lions drop to 11-7 and 4-4 in the LCS.
"I think this was the biggest crowd we have had at a volleyball match," ASU head volleyball coach Chuck Waddington said.
In its quest to raise breast cancer awareness and funds for the Side-Out Foundation, Angelo State volleyball surpassed its goal raising over $3500. This ranks as the second highest amount that the Belles have raised for the cause.
ASU's Morgan Seaton had a career night with 10 kills and a .455 hitting percentage. Defensively, the middle blocker added a season high six total blocks and three digs.
"I really liked Morgan Seaton's ability to be up in transition and be able to score for us," added Waddington on the sophomore.
Also aiding the Belles attack, team kill leader Mallory Blauser recorded 10 kills on the night. This brings the junior to a season total of 294. Right side hitter Abbie Lynn dropped in six kills for a .455 clip. It was her fourth match of the season to hit at least .400. Distributing for ASU, Maggie Jo Keffury tallied 35 assist with an outstanding .571 hitting percentage. Overall, the Belles hit .239 against TAMUC
Katie MacLeay and Brianna Sotello led an ASU defense that held the Lions to a .000 attack percentage for the night. MacLeay accrued a team leading 11 digs, which was her 20th match hitting double-digit digs. She now leads the squad with 440 total digs in 2015. Sotello also hit double figures with 10 digs. The sophomore added two blocks and seven kills to her totals for the night.
The Belles started strong in the first set with a 12-3 run lead Blauser, who dropped in two service aces. TAMUC would pull to within eight when Keffury fired in a kill which began a second lengthy run (9-0) for ASU. While the Belles attack hit .500 as a team, the defense held the Lions to a -.154 clip in the first and would take the set 25-8.
The second set kicked off with the Belles exchanging points with the Lions. Tied at four, Abbie Lynn gave the squad the lead with a kill set up by MacLeay. This would jump start a 7-1 run and the Belles would not look back taking the set 25-18. ASU headed into intermission with a 2-0 set lead.
The Belles came out of the break on the attack. Led by Seaton, who tallied three of her 10 kills, ASU started with a 7-1 run. TAMUC would not go down without a battle bringing it back to within one at 18-17 with a 7-1 run of its own. ASU would take the set with an 8-4 run and the match with another kill from Seaton followed by a TAMUC attack error.
Angelo State seeks to improve on its 7-1 conference and undefeated home record at the Junnel Center on Saturday, Oct. 17 at 1 p.m. against Texas Women's University.
