SAN ANGELO – The Angelo State volleyball team will open up its 2017 regular season this weekend with the annual Kathleen Brasfield Invitational, which kicks off on Friday, September 1 and runs through Saturday, September 2 in the Stephens Arena at the Junell Center.

Traveling to San Angelo to participate in the 2017 Kathleen Brasfield Invitational will be Colorado Christian, New Mexico Highlands, and Limestone College, which will be traveling from South Carolina. Also, in attendance will be Texas A&M –Kingsville, but the Belles will not face the Javelinas. Angelo State will start the invitational with Limestone College on Friday, September 1 at noon and complete the day with a 7:30 p.m. match against Colorado Christian. On Saturday, September 2, the Belles will face the Cougars for a second time at noon and then complete the day with New Mexico Highlands at 7:30 p.m. This will be the first matches of the season for all teams in attendance.  

The Belles jump start their season coming off a historic postseason run that culminated with a program first NCAA Elite Eight appearance on its 40th year of existence. Closing out 2016 with a 34-4 record, ASU boasted a 20-0 undefeated record while defending the home court. This included both the Lone Star Conference Tournament and the NCAA South Central Regional Tournament. ASU will also be returning several key players from last season.

Outside hitter Brianna Sotello will be entering her senior season as one of three team captains. The San Antonio native capped off the 2016 season with an AVCA All-American selection and a third season collecting Lone Star Conference awards.  With 1,146 career kills at ASU, she is currently ninth on the school's all-time career kills list and could very well move into the top 5 if she continues her stellar production this season.

Right side hitter Abbie Lynn, also a 2017 team captain and a two-time All-LSC second team selection, was dominant on the right side for the Belles and completed the year with 898 total career kills placing her in the top 20 all-time at ASU.

Senior middle blockers Morgan Seaton and Leiyona Young will once again patrol the net seeking the next big block for the Belles. Seaton led ASU in block in 2016 with 100 and was fourth on the team with 2.12 kills per set. She also marked 17 service aces. Young, who rounds out the 2017 squad captains, turned in 53 total blocks during the Belles historic 2016 season.

Also, returning to the court for the Belles will be AVCA National Freshman of the Year and All-American Meghan Parker. The sophomore claimed the programs very first AVCA Freshman of the Year selection in 2016, as she had an incredible start to her career at ASU as she has recorded 1,379 assists on the season. This is only 21 away from crossing the 1,400 assist mark. This has already placed her 10th all-time in the ASU history books history. The freshman has also assisted the team as she has added a team second 36 service aces and a team fifth 282 digs to her numbers for the season.

Tulani Titley, Micheala Sifuentes and Jenna Markey will also be returning to the court for the Belles in 2017. Titley amassed a team fifth 159 kills on the season and a team second 82 blocks for ASU as a freshman. Sifuentes, now a junior, dug 314 balls last season, averaging 2.85 digs per set. Markey saw the court for 56 sets scoring 20.5 points in 2016.

Coach Chuck Waddington and his staff have also added some strong talent to the court in the offseason.  Transfers Anna Garham, Haley Coulter and Sundara Chinn, along with freshmen Bailey Mulder and Grace White will seek to make impacts on the court this season. Finally, redshirt freshman Bailey Allen and sophomores Ali Davison and Eadara Files will look to build off their experiences with the team in 2016.