ODESSA, Texas – The No. 15 Angelo State Belle volleyball team swept the University of Texas Permian Basin Falcons on Tuesday in three sets to win their first match of the 2020 season.
 
The Belles move to a 1-0 overall record, and a 1-0 conference record, while the Falcons fall to a 0-1 record in conference and overall.
 
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Several kills from Kailyn Gilbreath and errors from the Falcons gave Angelo State an early 5-3 lead over UTPB, but the Falcons dug in and scored five straight points to take an 8-6 lead over the Belles. Several kills from Sophia Berg and Nailah Gordon, plus several errors from the Falcons gave the Belles another two-point lead again, 12-10.
 
UTPB tied the first set at 13 apiece, scoring three unanswered points to take a 16-14 lead over Angelo State, but Angelo State took a stand and let their offense take control of the momentum of the game, with the Blue and Gold scoring six unanswered points to take back the lead and extend it to 20-16. Gilbreath scored two kills and one service ace with Berg grabbing a kill as well. Berg finished the first set for Angelo State, scoring a kill and defeating the Falcons, 25-19.
 
The Belles kept their momentum on offense going, scoring four quick points for a 4-0 lead over UTPB. Angelo State and the Falcons traded points back and forth throughout the second set, until an error from the Falcons, two kills from Nailah Gordon, and a service ace from Chloe Patton brought the Belles to a 13-7 lead over UTPB.
 
ASUs' lead continued to grow until a service error from the Falcons gave the Belles a seven-point lead, 20-13. Attack errors and bad sets ended the second set for UTPB, with ASU taking the second set to lead 2-0 over UTPB going into set three.
 
Set three started off slow for both the Belles and the Falcons, neither team able to gain the advantage over the other, until several kills from Gordon, Lindsey Ledyard, Gilbreath, and a service ace from Patton brought the Belles to a six-point lead over the Falcons, 14-8. UTPB cut the Belles lead down to three, but several kills from Gilbreath and Baleigh Allen brought the Blue and Golds lead up to five, 18-13.
 
ASU began a four-point run to extend their lead to eight over the Falcons, 22-14, but UTPB answered back with three unanswered points to cut into their deficit to five, 22-17. Two kills from Berg, plus an attack error from the Falcons ended the match for the Belles, resulting in the Belles sweep of the Falcons, 25-21.
 
Key Players:

• Gilbreath led the Belles offense against the Falcons, finishing with 14 kills and 17 points against UTPB. Gilbreath registered two service aces, two assists, two block assists, and seven digs.
• Ledyard registered 25 assists for the Belles, grabbing two kills against the Falcons. Ledyard also grabbed a service ace, a block assist, and eight digs in the first match of the season.
• Patton registered seven digs in the defensive charge for the Belles, grabbing four assists and two service aces throughout the match.

 
Up Next:
The Belles play the Falcons in the second match of the series against UTPB on Wednesday, January 27. First serve is slated for 7 p.m. in the UTPB Gymnasium Complex.