SAN ANGELO – The third seeded Angelo State volleyball team travels to Stephenville, Texas to partake in its 10tth consecutive Lone Star Conference Championship Tournament, where it will kick things off with sixth seeded Texas Woman's on Thursday at noon.
The Belles completed the regular season going 21-8 overall and 13-7 in the LSC. Joining the Belles in Stephenville will be the host and top seeded Tarleton State, second seed Texas A&M–Commerce, fourth seed Texas A&M–Kingsville, fifth seed West Texas A&M, sixth seed Texas Woman's, seventh seed Western New Mexico and eighth seed Eastern New Mexico. The winner of the Belles' first matchup against the Pioneers will then advance to take on the winner of TAMUC versus WNMU on Friday, at 5 p.m.
Angelo State will enter the tournament riding a six-match win streak with its last two victories coming in the form of sweeps. The Belles currently co-lead the conference with a .242 attack parentage and lead the LSC averaging 14.40 kills per set. The team's stout defense also heads the bunch digging 17.92 balls per set. The Belles have won back-to-back tournament championships and are 17-7 in the LSC Tournament under ASU Head Volleyball Coach Chuck Waddington.
Texas Woman's will be coming off a sweep of UT Permian Basin as it enters the tournament. The Pioneers are 1-5 while playing at neutral sites and are 1-1 when facing the Belles this year. TWU's offense is averaging 12.97 kills per set and a .191 clip on the season. The semifinal round of the 2015 LSC Championship in Stephenville was the last time the pair met in the post season. This resulted in ASU downing the Pioneers 3-1. Â Â Â
Leading the Belles into her fourth and final LSC tournament will be Brianna Sotello. Recording a .338 clip, the senior headed the team averaging a solid 5.00 kills per set as she totaled 30 this past week. She has completed the regular season with a team leading 415 kills and a 3.99 kills per set average. Sotello has also played a huge role on the ASU defense as she has a team second 3.05 digs per set average and has contributed 44 total blocks, including a team most nine solo blocks.
Morgan Seaton will also be a key player on both sides of the ball. The middle blocker has been a force for the Belles along the net. Surpassing the 300 career block mark this season, the senior is just three blocks short of marking 100 blocks for the third straight year. Offensively, Seaton has fired in a team fourth 2.06 kills per set and is second on the team with 29 service aces. She also leads the LSC and ASU with a stellar .340 hitting percentage.
Angelo State will also look towards Sundara Chinn and Anna Graham to place points on the board. Chinn's 2.66 kills per set is second on the team, while her 43 total blocks have helped the Belles defends the right side of the net. Graham follows closely with a 2.49 kills per set average, a .289 attack percentage and 76 total blocks on the year.
Setting the majority of the balls for the Belles attack will continue to be Meghan Parker. The San Antonio native tallied 94 total assists during this past week's pair of matches. This averaged her 15.67 assists per set as she helped the Belles to a .327 hitting percentage for the week. Turning in 51 assists against WNMU and 43 against ENMU helped to mark her ninth match this season with at least 40 assists. Parker also added her eighth double-double with a 12 dig performance against the Greyhounds. She continues to lead the Belles from the service line with 38 total aces in 2017. Â
Freshman, Bailey Mulder continued to lead the Belles defense in its final two regular season matches of the year. The freshman dug 44 balls to average 7.33 digs per set. Her 26 digs against Western New Mexico was the second most the libero has recorded during her inaugural season as a Belle. Mulder continues to rise in the stats as she is now fourth on the squad with 24 aces.
Finally, providing the Belles with options will be Tulani Titley, Haley Coulter, Bailey Drum, Ali Davison and Eadara Files. Titley, Coulter, Davison and Drum are all effective along the net, as the trio can produce results both offensively and defensively. While, Files gives ASU depth at the setter position, she is also a great option from the service line.
