SAN ANGELO – Coming off of two straight home wins to open up Lone Star Conference play, the Angelo State volleyball team will head on the road to face Tarleton State in a battle for first place in the conference.
The Belles are 9-3 (2-0 LSC) on the year after posting a five set victory over Texas A&M-Commerce and a four set victory over Texas Woman's University.
"I'm playing five freshmen, and all of them are doing great things for us, " Angelo State head volleyball coach Chuck Waddington said. "There's a lot of good volleyball happening and we're doing good things against good teams."
The Belles are off to an excellent start defensively this season, leading the conference in opponent hitting percentage and ranking third in blocks per set. Baleigh Allen has set the tone at the net this season, recording 40 blocks through twelve matches. She is closely followed by freshman Sophia Berg, who has posted 35 blocks, and Sundara Chinn, who has posted 30.
Freshman Makenna Hanssen has paced the Belles with 125 digs on the season. Sundara Chinn is close behind with 117 and setter Meghan Parker is third with 104. Freshmen Morgan Preston and Chloe Robinson round out the top 5, with Preston having posted 95 and Robinson having posted 68.
Offensively, the Belles have been led by Audrey Fragniere and Sundara Chinn. Fragniere has paced the Belles with 115 kills and Chinn has posted 95. Baleigh Allen has posted 76 on a .325 hitting percentage, which is good for third in the conference. Anna Graham is fourth on the team with 70 kills, and Sophia Berg rounds out the top five with 62.
Setter Meghan Parker has paced the team in assists with 406, which is good for first in the conference. She also leads the team with 22 service aces.
Brianna Hudson, Bailey Drum, Makenzie Griffin, and Grace White have also been integral members of the Belles this season. Hudson is coming off of her first two starts of the season, and excelled in the match against TAMUC, posting 13 kills and a .333 hitting percentage. Drum has posted 22 kills on the season and averages .96 kills per set. Griffin and White have excelled in limited playing time, with Griffin averaging two kills per set and White averaging one.
Tarleton State comes into Tuesday's matchup ranked 20th in the AVCA poll and having won five consecutive matches. They defeated Texas Woman's 3-0 and Texas A&M-Commerce 3-2 this past weekend. Angelo State is 37-16 all-time against the TexAnns.
