SAN ANGELO – As it celebrates is 40th year of volleyball, the No. 13 Angelo State volleyball team plays host to Texas A&M – Kingsville in its only match of the week on Saturday at 2 p.m.
The Belles will enter this week's match-up with 13-2 overall record and continues to sit on top of the Lone Star Conference with a 4-1 record. Averaging 14.51 kills per set as a team, the ASU offense leads the LSC with a .267 attack percentage, while its defense has limited the opposition to a LSC lowest .148 clip. The Belles will be seeking to get back on track from its close five set loss to West Texas A&M.
Angelo State volleyball will also be celebrating the program's 40th year anniversary during the match. The Belles began play in 1976 under then Head Coach Beta Little. Since that point ASU has added plenty of awards and hardware to its accolades, which includes nine NCAA Division II Tournament Appearences with a 10-9 overall tournament record, seven regular season Lone Star Confernce Championships and LSC Tournament Championships, 11 All-Americans, and 15 NCAA Division II All-Region selections.
Texas A&M –Kingsville (12-3, 3-1 LSC) will be entering the Stephens Arena having won two of its three matches the previous week and one day after a tough match-up on the road against Tarleton State. In last week's match-ups, the Javelinas downed Texas Woman's (3-1) and Dallas Baptist (3-0), while it dropped its Friday match against Texas A&M – Commerce (1-3). The Belles defense will need to be stout off the serve as the hogs lead the conference in service aces with 109 for an average of 1.98 aces per set. TAMUK's defense also leads the LSC in blocks with 2.39 per set. Angelo State went 1-1 against Texas A&M – Kingsville last season, however dominates the all-time record at 56-11.
Mallory Blauser, Brianna Sotello and Abbie Lynn will be leading the ASU attack. Blauser, the team leader in kills (227), capped her week with a 19 kill performance against West Texas A&M. During last week's matches she recorded a season high in digs against Tarleton State and West Texas A&M. The senior is second in the LSC with total kills (227) and is top 10 in the nation in both total kills (227) and kills per set (4.45). Blauser has also assisted the ASU defense as she is third on the team with 143 digs which averages her 2.80 digs per set.
Sotello played a key role in the Belles offensive attack this past week. The junior outside hitter tallied 45 total kills for the week. She led the team in the category against both Tarleton State with 16 kills and West Texas A&M with a season high 22 kills. She has now marked nine matches this season with double-digit kills. Against the three opponents she averaged 4.09 kills per set, recorded a .296 clip and co-led the team with four total service aces. Assisting the ASU defense, Sotello marked a team second 27 digs and team third seven total blocks. Lynn rounds out the group sitting third on the team with 126 total kills. The junior tallied a season high 16 kills and four blocks against WTAMU.
Heading up the defensive efforts for the Belles will be Morgan Seaton, Leiyona Young and Brooke Robertson. Seaton came up big for the Belles defense along the net this week. The junior turned in a team leading total of 14 blocks for the week. This averaged the Big Spring native 1.27 blocks per set. She led the team in blocks for two of the three matches, which included five blocks coming both against Tarleton State and UT -Permian Basin. Seaton assisted the ASU attack with 14 kills and an ace for the week. Young is currently second on the list with 31 total blocks in 2016. Offensively, she is also fifth on the squad averaging 1.44 kills per set with a total of 46 on the season. Finally, Robertson has been impressive in her five consecutive starts as libero for the Belles. She has marked double-figure digs in all five, including a career high 17 digs in ASUs five set marathon against WTAMU. With her past performances she has jumped to fourth on the squad averaging 2.56 digs per set.
Setting up the attack for ASU will once again be freshman Meghan Parker. The setter has climbed back into leading the nation and the LSC with 607 total assist, while she continues to sit in with in the top five in assists per set with 11.90. Against WTAMU the freshman tallied a career high 61 assists. Parker also continues to lead the Belles from the service line with 21 aces on the season. Sitting fourth on the squad with 117 digs, she co-leads with six double-doubles on the season.
Adding depth to ASU will be Tulani Titley and Mallory Davidson. Titley is currently sixth on the team with 46 kills on the season. The freshman tied her season high of eight kills in a match against WTAMU last week for the Belles. She has also provided some solid defensive play for the team as she is fourth on the squad with 24 blocks this season averaging her a block per set. Davidson has also provided a stern defensive presence on the court for ASU with 110 total digs and an average of 2.29 digs per set for the season. She is also tied for third on the team with 12 service aces.
This week's match up with the Javelinas will be shown live in high definition on RamTV (Suddenlink channels 6 & 106).
