SAN ANGELO – The No. 21 Angelo State volleyball team continues its road tour with bouts against West Texas A&M on Friday, October 27 and UT-Permian Basin on Saturday, October 28.
With a current record of 15-7, 7-6 LSC and sitting fifth in the conference, the Belles will seek to get back on track after a midweek loss to Tarleton State. ASU will kick things off this weekend with the Lady Buffs on Friday at 6 p.m. and then follow with Saturday's matchup against the Falcons with a first serve time of 1 p.m. Angelo State swept both conference opponents earlier in the season in the Stephens Arena at the Junell Center.
The Lady Buffs, who are currently sitting one slot above the Belles at fourth in the LSC, will enter Friday's match with an 8-6 conference record and are 16-10 overall. WTAMU will be riding a three match winning streak into Friday's match, having downed Newman University, Cameron and Lubbock Christian over the past week. The Lady Buffs attack is rocking a LSC fourth .214 hitting percentage on the season and are third in the conference with a 13.39 kills per set average. Defensively, West Texas A&M is also third in the conference with a 16.49 dig per set average and has allowed its opposition to mark a .188 clip this season. ASU has only taken one match from WTAMU in Canyon, Texas over the last five years.
The 4-19, 1-13 LSC, UTPB Falcons are at the bottom of the LSC standings and are looking to right the ship after a 14 match losing streak. Like the Belles UT-Permian Basin recently took Western New Mexico to five sets falling short in the end. ASU swept the Falcons in the Stephens Arena at the Junell center earlier this season.
The Belles will once again look to leaders Brianna Sotello, Anna Graham, Sundara Chinn and Morgan Seaton to help the team bounce back. Sotello maintains her spot at the Belles leader on the offense season with a 3.94 kills per set average and a .260 attack percentage. With 1,461 career kills, the senior had has now taken control of the second all-time spot in program history. She has also proven to be a major role player for the ASU defense as she has also maintained her second spot on the squad with 2.96 digs per set. Sotello has also patrolled the net tallying 32.0 total blocks on the year. Graham has jumped into second place on the squad accruing a team second 176 kills on the year. The sophomore now has a 2.48 kills per set average and has a team second .289 attack percentage. She has also added 59 blocks to aid the defense this season.
Chinn, who has remained second on the team with 2.61 kills per set, also has a .249 clip for the season. She has proven herself to be a great defensive addition to ASU with a team third 35 total blocks thus far. Completing the group, Seaton rocks a .324 clip on the season which has allowed the middle blocker to maintain the top spot in the category. She continues to lead the Belles with a team leading 70 blocks on the year, which has averaged her 1.43 blocks per set.
Distributing for the Belles will be Meghan Parker and Eadara Files. With a team most 622 kills and an 8.41 assist per set average Parker continues to head the squad's distribution duties. The setter has also been a force from the service line as she leads ASU with 26 on the year. She has also assisted the ASU defense with 2.05 digs per set. Fellow sophomore, Files, has also continued to add to her numbers at setter with an average of 4.78 assist per set.
Leading the defense against the Lady Buffs and Falcons will be ASU's two defensive specialists, Micheala Sifuentes and Bailey Mulder. With a 4.97 digs per set average, Sifuentes remains the Belles leader with a 4.90 dig per set average. She has added 19 total aces to aid the team's offensive success this season. Mulder, rounds out the duo with a 2.36 dig per set average. She has also been proficient from the service line with 16 total aces this year.
Bailey Drum and Tulani Titley will add options for the Belles on both sides of the ball. At outside hitter, Drum is currently averaging a team fourth 1.88 kill per set average and a .202 hitting percentage on the season. Titley, is a strong option at the middle blocker position with 25 total blocks on the year. She has also been an offensive asset averaging 1.50 kills per set.
