SIOUX FALLS, South Dakota – The No. 12 Angelo State volleyball team's historic season was ended in the Elite Eight with a 3-1 loss (25-14, 22-25, 25-27, 16-25) to the University of Alaska Anchorage on Thursday afternoon.

The Belles concluded their season with a record of 34-4 having claimed the outright Lone Star Conference regular season championship, the LSC Volleyball Tournament championship and the NCAA DII South Central Regional championship. This marked the first time in program history that the team not only made it to the Elite Eight round of the NCAA DII National Volleyball Tournament but also the first time in history that the team has claimed all three championships. The Belles had four players mark double-doubles for the match. With the win Alaska Anchorage improved to 33-2 and will advance to face the winner of Palm Beach Atlantic and South Carolina – Aiken in the semifinal round.

"A lot of credit goes to Alaska Anchorage," commented ASU Head Coach Chuck Waddington. "We came out in the first set and set a good tone, but they made some nice adjustments. We got down early in the second set, and never really were able to recover from that. What I liked about my team is that regardless of the gap in the score, they were playing focusing on the next point. We got within one or two points in the third set even, and I think if we could've won that it could've been a different story. Our players gave me everything they had though. It's hard to see them hurt, because I know they wanted to take this next step for our program, but I love them and I wouldn't trade them for anybody else in the world."

Brianna Sotello and Mallory Blauser headed the ASU Attack both marking double-doubles for the match. Sotello led the squad with 18 total kills on the day. She also matched a season second 22 digs to assist the defense. The junior finishes the season with a team second 398 kills and 1146 career kills. This advances the junior to ninth on the all-time career kills list in ASU history as she passes Alaina Sivells ('06-'09).  

Blauser completed her final match with the Belles turning in a squad second 16 kills on the afternoon. This solidified the senior as second all-time in the program history books with 1,457 career kills surpassing Rose Molinar ('89-'92). She completes her season with 548 total kills and a .297 hitting percentage. The Round Rock native also closes the season with a team leading 40 aces. Defensively, she tallied 13 digs for the match.

"I've said this a lot of times, but when you're best players are your hardest workers, unbelievable things can happen," added Waddington.  "I remember getting the call from a club coach while I was in Indianapolis three years ago, telling me that Mallory had interest in coming to Angelo State, and I knew she could be a difference maker. I'm just proud of the player she has developed into. She has led us to new heights and kind of opened the door for us now. We'll walk away from this knowing that we belong in this championship venue and try to maintain that standard that has been set."

Mallory Davidson and Morgan Seaton anchored the Belles defense. Davidson chalked a career-high 38 total dig for the match giving her a total of 542 digs on the season. She also added an ace giving her a team fourth 26 aces on the season. Seaton led the squad along the net with a team most four block. She completes her junior season with a team leading 116 total blocks on the year. Offensively, she also recorded a team third 11 kills.

National Freshman of the Year Meghan Parker continued to dish out the ball for the Belles marking 45 assists for the match. She completed her freshman season with 1,424 total assists and remains within the top 10 in the ASU history books. During the match she fell just short of marking the team's fourth double-double of the day with eight digs.

Also making contributions to the Belles efforts for the match were Leiyona Young, Tulani Titley and Micheala Sifuentes. Young turned in a team second three total blocks, Titley marked a team fourth five kills and Sifuentes a team fourth 10 digs.

The Seawolves struck first in the match with a kill, however ASU quickly answered taking an 11-8 lead. A kill from right side hitter Abbie Lynn kicked off a 5-0 run that would increase the Belles lead to 16-8. After the exchange of several points Titley sparked a follow up 6-0 run that saw big swings from Blauser, Sotello, Seaton and an ace by Davidson. This gave ASU a 24-13 lead in the set. UAA would drop one in, but Blauser would put the set away with a monster kill.

In the second set Alaska Anchorage would open with an 8-3 run that would set the Belles in a hole. Several UAA errors and a Titley kill got the Belles back to within one (8-9), but the Seawolves would once again pull away. The Belles would not be able to take over the lead and would drop the set 22-25 which allowed UAA to bring the set score to 1-1.

Seaton opened up the third set with a kill to get the Belles rolling, but UAA would climb back to tie the set at four each. The Seawolves then rattled off eight straight to take a commanding 12-4 lead. The Belles would battle back and chip away at the lead, with a Blauser kill bring it to an even 22-22 on the board.  An ensuing Seawolf attack error would finally place the Belles into the lead, but a pair of UAA kills would quickly take that away. Tied at 24 the two teams would push the set to extra points and with another pair of kills and a ASU error, Alaska Anchorage would take a 2-1 set lead.

In the final set, the Seaswolves would jump out to another large 8-2 lead, and the Belles would once again be unable to recover from the deficit. Alaska Anchorage would go on to take the fourth and final set be a margin of 25-16.